Journey of the Stars Chapters 1 24
by Reibai no Kami
Summary: A DBZ - Outlaw Star Crossover. Has action, drama, suspense, and romance.


Outlaw Star-DBZ, crossover, fan-epic.  
All of the following copywrited material is property of it's respective   
owner, I do not own them. So...don't try and sue me...or call the CIA...  
or...well, you get the picture, si?  
  
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Thanks!  
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Journey of the Stars: A Fallen Star Meets a Prince  
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Thud. Thud. Skip. Thud.  
Those where the only sounds the Outlaw Star could make as it landed on the ground.   
It just wasn't equipped for these kinds of landings. The pilot and her crew knew this,  
but didn't have the time to care. I mean, come on, when you're out of fuel and have   
Kai pirates on your tail, it's a little hard to worry whether or not your ship is equipped  
actual landing gear.  
"Man, Gene's gonna kill me for this. Why the heck didn't he tell me the surface  
landing gear wasn't installed yet?" The pilot complained.   
She didn't look qualified for piloting the fastest ship in the galaxy. A skinny,  
shaggy-haired ward. That's what Gene had called her. She stood five-foot-seven and had   
black hair and hazel eyes. Strangers often thought she and Gene were related, but it   
wasn't the case. He had just found her, floating on a broken space pod, ready to run   
out of oxygen. Jim always said saved, though. Floating out in space, with few memories   
of anything before the day she was found.   
She didn't know where she came from. A master at mechanics and martial arts,   
Senko just wished she had some clue. She sympathized a lot with Melfina, they both had   
no idea why they we're created, or for what purpose.  
"Hey Senko! Hello! HELLO!" Jim Hawking was suddenly in her face, complaining and   
waving his hand in front of her eyes. "You're just like Gene, you always space out when   
we need you!"   
Jim was unnerving for someone twelve years old. A shrimp of a kid, he constantly   
behaved like Gene Starwind's elder. He was the real brains behind Starwind & Hawking,   
their joint business adventure. Just don't tell Gene that, she told people, he liked   
to think he was in charge.  
The rest of the Outlaw Star's crew wasn't any more normal. There was Melfina, of course, the bio-android capable of controlling the Star with just her brain. Then there was the woman who Senko fondly referred to as "the cat-bitch." Aisha Clanclan never minded being  
called a bitch though; she was overly proud of being one of the vicious animalian metamorphic  
Ctarl-Ctarl. Last, but not least, there was Twilight Suzuka. Once Gene's assassin, teamed up  
with the Star's crew on the grounds that her crew was "interesting."  
Senko slapped Jim's hand away. "All right, all right. I'm awake, geez Jim." She  
turned away from Jim and he returned to the seat in front of her. "Melfina? Are you   
all right?"  
"Yes Senko, I'm fine." She piped up.  
"Oww. What about me? Huh?" Aisha complained.  
Senko instinctively ignored her. Gene had told her to do that. She did a lot of   
complaining, and that's not overly helpful while stranded on a foreign planet without fuel.  
"Gillian? Damage report?"   
Gillian was the Star's main computer. He was the brain behind whatever functions   
Melfina couldn't control. Senko always found him extremely helpful and rather unintrusive.   
Well, except for the Gillian Bot Jim painted pastel pink.   
"It appears that damage was limited to the exterior of the hull. A couple of dents   
and scrapes. That's quite amazing considering we landed on land, with no landing gear   
deployed."  
"Wonderful." Senko replied. "Gillian, check the O 2 levels on this planet.   
We need to know if we can leave the Star."   
"Oxygen levels are within one-fifth-teenth of the Star's levels. It is safe   
to leave the hull."  
"Umm, excuse me?" Aisha quipped.  
"What?" asked Senko.  
"Why's the water green?"  
"Huh?"  
Senko left the pilot's chair and joined her at a small window on the starboard   
side of the ship. That's strange, she thought. And what's this? The sky's green too?   
What the heck kind of a place is this? Oh, I know, one without fuel. Heh, great.  
"Gillian, what do we know about the planet?"  
Gillian's motors whirled for a moment, then he replied. "This planet is the home   
of a gastropod-style species. Other lifeforms are sparse on the planet. Home's are constructed of white resins, imported from other planets..."  
"Um, Gillian?" Senko interrupted.  
"Yes Senko?"  
"I was kinda looking for a name."  
"Oh, I'm sorry. The translated name, in your language, would be Namek." He paused.  
"And by the way, someone is trying to breech the hull."  
"What???" Senko shouted. "Why the hell didn't you say that first? Give me visual   
of the hatch."  
The video feed from one of Gillian's Bots appeared on the screen. Jim instantly   
started laughing.  
"Look at his hair! He looks like Gene when I put hair gel in his hair while he   
was sleeping! Remember what he looked like in the morning!" He continued laughing.   
"He's still pissed about that, by the way." reminded Senko.  
"I know."  
"All right, back to what we should be doing. Gillian, link the visual feed to   
an audio feed. I want to know what the hell the little freak thinks he's doing to my ship."  
"Gene's ship, you mean." Aisha quipped  
"Oh shut up, Aisha."  
Gillian's motors wheeled for a half-second. "Go ahead and talk, he'll hear you."  
"Excuse me? What the hell do you think you're doing?"  
The little man looked up. He couldn't have stood more than five-foot-five. His   
hair was jet-black and out of control and completely vertical. She couldn't believe   
anyone could have so much hair and still have a receding hair line. But despite the   
strangeness of his hair, it was his eyes that chilled her. That looked just so...cruel.   
Like he'd never cared about anyone but himself, ever.   
"Wow." Jim said. "He looks like Senko!"  
"What? Your brain's still scrambled from the flight." She retorted. "My hair is   
kinda wild, but nothin' like that."  
"Not that...look at his face. His eyes are the same shape. And your hair and eyes   
are the same color."  
"You know, Jim has a point, Senko." Suzuka stated.  
"Weird." added Aisha.  
"It is kinda freaky. But that's not of concern right now! And do you people   
realize he's just heard everything you've said? Thanks a lot, now he's probably pissed."  
"No, not yet." said Aisha. "HEY YOU! SHORT GUY! STOP THAT OR SENKO'S GONNA COME   
OUT THERE AND KICK YOUR ASS!" She giggled. "Ok, now he's pissed."   
"Grr!"  
As Aisha continued to giggle, the strange little man busted open the hull and   
entered the main cabin.  
"Look, Senko's taller than him!" Aisha giggled to Jim.  
"Be quiet!" he replied quietly.  
Senko and the man stood face to face. She was taller then him, but just by a inch   
or so. He stood with his arms crossed and with a look of utter disregard for her. He's   
clothes were strange, and totally foreign to the crew. It was some sort of armor, but it   
appeared to be made of a stretchy plastic resin. Oh that's it, she thought, it must be one  
of the natives. With that resin armor and all.  
"So, um." She started to say, scratching the back of her head.. "You're one of the   
natives huh? So, you're a gastropod? How strange and....slimy."  
Unknown to Senko, she had just said one of the few things that would set off his   
temper, at least at a total stranger. He lunged at her throat, knocking her to the cabin   
floor. Wrapping his hands around her neck, while sitting on her stomach, he proceeded to  
choke her.   
Jim came running over screaming for him to stop. The man turned toward him for a   
millisecond, released one of his hands from Senko's neck and punched Jim in the stomach.   
Jim literally flew across the floor, and into the front console of the cabin, knocked him   
unconscious.  
It was Aisha's turn. She leaped on the little man's back and proceeded to claw at   
his face. It was enough to distract him enough to allow Senko to push him back, allowing her  
enough room to get her right leg up. Giving it all the power she could muster, she kicked   
him in the gut, sending him and Aisha backwards into the console as well.   
Aisha grabbed the crazed man and pulled his arms behind his back. She then pressed   
him to the floor, pinning him down. Senko, meanwhile, attended to Jim, trying to get him   
to come around. Finally, after giving a couple of moans, she handed him over to Suzuka.   
Senko got right up in the little man's face, full of anger and distrust. "Now, I'm   
gonna ask you again: What the hell do you think your doing?"  
His eyes burned holes through Senko's soul. "I am Vegeta, the last Saiya-jin Prince.   
I am trying to get the hell off of this dustball of a planet." He paused. "Now, you will   
answer my question."  
"Why should I?"   
"Because I could kill you easily, and you know it."  
"Fine then, what is it?"  
"Why the hell do you look like me, you stupid punk?"  
  
Journey of the Stars: Gene's Disdain  
*************************************************  
All she could do was stare. She realized that they kinda looked alike, but   
nothing could convince her of anything more than that. "Get off my ship." She told   
him, standing back up.  
"But Senko, " Aisha chimed in nervously. "Are you sure we should let him go?   
What if he attacks us again?"  
"I am the head of this crew and I said, let him go. Now do it."  
"Okay, if you say so."  
Aisha released her death-grip on their prisoner and he fled the main cabin.   
Senko stepped to the little port-side window and watched him take flight and flee the scene.  
"Man, I hope everyone here isn't like that." said Jim.  
"I think that makes five of us Jimmy."  
"Don't call me that!"  
"Oh be quiet..."  
Gillian's motors whirled and he interrupted Senko. "Incoming video transmission.  
Shall I accept?"  
"Who's it from?" asked Jim.  
"Gene."  
Oh no, thought Senko. Gene's gonna kill me.  
Gene Starwind's mug popped up on the Star's main vid scene. His shaggy fire-red   
hair was a sharp contrast to his steel-gray eyes. But, most noticeably, were the scars   
that covered his body. Senko had some scars like that, and people assumed Gene beat   
her up on occasion.  
"Where the hell are you guys?" Gene yelled.  
"Lost!" replied Aisha.  
"Shut up, Aisha!"  
"Fine, Ms.-High-and-Mighty-Cap't."  
"Heh. Gene, we've run out of fuel and we're stranded on this backwater planet.   
On top of that, we had to make a surface landing to escape a group of Kai pirates."  
"Is the ship okay?"   
"Gillian's reporting no major damage."  
"Or, he did." added Suzuka.  
"Oh yeah, uh, Gene, we've had a little run-in with a native." Senko said, unsure of   
herself.  
"So?"  
"He destroyed the port-side hatch."  
"What? You can't be serious. No one's that strong."  
"He was. Blew the door right off the sliding track."  
"Wow. Can it be fixed on-site?"  
"Gillian?"  
Gillian's motor whirled and he displayed a CAD diagram of the hatch, the door,   
and the sliding track. "I can't help with this while on this planet's surface. This   
is heavy labor and I'm only capable of doing that in zero-G."  
"All right, I'll take care of it." Jim stated.  
"Fine." answered Gene. "Just as long as someone fixes it. Is Melfina okay?"   
"Yeah, she's okay. We're all a little shaky, but we're alive." Senko told him.   
She looked over at Melfina. "Mel, you can come out of there, you know that, right?"  
"Oh sorry, I never thought about it." Mel replied. A moment later her capsule   
slid back to the floor of the cabin and the latch popped open. Jim left the front   
seat, and had her sit down.  
"Gene, I'm sending you our location. We need you to send a fuel ship." Senko said.  
"All right."  
She pushed a few of the recessed buttons on the front console. Another CAD diagram  
appeared, but this one was of the Star's location to Gene's current location. He was on  
Haebalm 5 and they were 140,000,000,000 kilometers from home.  
His eyes were huge. "That's extremely far, Senko!. It's six quadrents over. That's  
the last time I let you go joy-riding. It'll take time to get a fuel ship out that far.  
At least a week. Might as well make yourselves at home."  
In time with Gene's last few words, Aisha's stomach growled. "He he." she giggled.  
"All right! Time to find something to eat."  
"All right Gene, we're going to be leaving the Star, it's not like anyone can steal  
it without any fuel. I'll have Gillian start on any small repairs and Jim'll start on the  
hatch tomorrow."  
"All right then. Be careful and good luck guys. Starwind out."  
Gillian ended the transmission and the vid screen went black.   
"Everyone grab a jacket or at least something to keep you warm. We don't know how  
cold it gets here at night." Senko announced. She reached under the Captain's chair and  
pulled out her long, tan jacket. It was tattered, but she didn't care. It was the one  
thing she still had from the space pod. The only other thing to survive.  
  
Journey of the Stars: Krillin the Bald  
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As the crew exited the hull, Senko noticed two figures approaching them. Now what?  
She thought. More run-ins with the short and unusual. "Hold up, guys." she told the crew.  
Senko walked from the ship to meet the strangers half-way from they position.   
She couldn't have anyone else that close to the Star. Gene would be horrified if he knew that  
people besides the crew had interacted with the ship and Gillian.   
One of them a small, bald man and the other a small child, no more than four or five.  
Senko instictively stopped and took a fighting stance. She couldn't be unprepared like  
before. And it seemed the little guys were the ones with the most power here.  
"Hey there!" the little bald man told her when they meet up with her. "You must be  
lost, no one comes out to this area of the galaxy. I'm Krillin and this little guy is  
Gohan. What the heck are you guys doing on Namek anyways?"  
Senko relaxed her stance. For whatever reason, she felt the Star's crew could trust  
them. "We've run out of fuel and are stranded here until a fuel ship arrives." she told him.  
She proceded to name the crew members, pointing everyone out. "I am Senko Li Katsuma.   
That's Jim Hawking, Aisha Clanclan, Twilight Suzuka, Melfina, and the little Bot is Gillian,  
the ship's computer. The ship is named the Outlaw Star."  
He seemed to have trouble taking it all in. "All right, well, you're not going to want  
to stay out here; it'll get really cold, really fast here, now that's it's dark. We're just  
came out here to investigate, we're staying at a local village for the meantime."  
"Wait, you're not a native either?"  
"What do you mean, either?"  
"Some crazy guy with wild hair attacked us," Aisha chimed in. "We thought he was  
gonna kill us all and steal the ship. He wanted off this planet really badly he said."  
"Oh..." he started. "You must have run into Vegeta. He's still trying to get off  
the planet, he's determined to steal the four Dragonballs we've found so far...."  
"Um..." Senko interrupted. It was her turn to be confused. "So, where's the village?  
We're all hungry and tired."  
"All right, follow us."  
"I don't wanna walk! My paws are tired." Aisha whined.   
"Enough Aisha." Senko told her.  
As they left the safety of the Star, Senko took a quick look back. She was pretty sure  
it would be safe. And Jim brought the pink Gillian Bot with them, so they could say in  
constant contact with it. Then she realized the real source of her fear. It had nothing  
to do with the ship, per se. She was afraid for them, the crew, and feared whatever was  
to be found in the village.  
  
Journey of the Stars: Rebirth of an Angry Star  
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The walk seemed never-ending. And it wasn't exactly a scenic tour of Namek, either.  
The group moved in silence across the plain, in near darkness. A small latern that little  
Gohan carried was their only source of light.   
As Senko walked, she tried to take in everything she could about the planet. The smell  
of the air, the cool breeze from the surrounding green sea. It all seemed too ethereal to  
be real. She wondered if she was dreaming and pinched herself on the arm to be sure. No   
luck, no dream. Great, she thought. Gene's anger's gonna be real as well.  
She watched the little boy walking ahead of her. He had a tail. A brown, furry tail.  
She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before. It looked like...nah, couldn't be, she  
thought.  
Finally, Krillin and Gohan halted and told them they had arrived. Well, Gillian had  
been right, the buildings where domed, white pods. All but one of the pods was the same   
size. The small ones where about fifteen feet high and fifty feet in diameter. They looked  
like they had ample living space, despite their strange shape.  
Then there was the large pod. Senko guessed it was about five times the size of the  
other pods. It had a sense of regality about it and was the only pod to have paint in a  
color other than white on it. It had little patches of deep purple on rised bubbles.   
"Krillin, what's that?" she asked, pointing at the pod.  
"That? Oh that's the Namekian Star Chapel. Guru, the Namekian Elder consoles  
lost souls there. He seems to know everything about everyone."  
Senko stood in awe. Wow, she thought. Maybe he knows who I am. As if sensing  
her thoughts, Melfina joined Senko at looking at the Chapel. Maybe, just maybe.   
Senko started to walk on, but Melfina stayed behind. That's okay, Senko thought.   
Let her think things through on her own. The group was approaching the front-most pod  
when they heard a scream.  
Senko whipped around to see Melfina lying on the ground, covering her face.   
"No, please. Don't hurt me." she cried.  
Standing above her, ready to strike again was that freak from earlier! Senko  
couldn't believe he would try something again. Aisha now stood at Senko's left and  
Suzuka at her right, both ready to pounce on whoever would hurt Mel. When Senko's  
bewilderment broke, she put both arms out, signaling to Aisha and Suzuka that she  
wanted to handle him. Both, understanding the simple gesture, stepped back. Senko  
marched towards them, and stood before him, just before he could strike her. She bent  
down quickly and scooped up Mel, handing her over to Suzuka who had gingerly approached   
the situation.   
Senko took her defense stance. Feet apart with knees slightly bent. Arms,   
in L-shape at waist, with clenched fists. She couldn't understand why she felt so angry.  
He hadn't hurt her. She usually didn't react this strongly to any situation.   
Gene often told her she didn't react enough, and if she continued to be that way,   
she'd never make it as an outlaw.  
Her angry reached the boiling point. She screamed. But that wasn't what made   
the situation strange. It was the quick flash of light and after glow that surrounded her.  
That would be the thing people would talk about for years. But for the moment, everyone  
was speechless.  
The silence was finally broken by little Gohan, who said his first words to the  
Star's crew. "Loo'! She's like my daddy, she's glowin', she's a Saiya-nin too!"   
At those words, Vegeta's smirk broke like a dropped glass vase. Those few words  
were enough to spark fear in even his heart. And in a blink of an eye, he fled.  
Senko was enraged. How dare he run from a battle. What kind of a man does that?  
And in one last gesture of anger, she ripped off her tattered coat, revealing the secret  
she had been hiding from Krillin and little Gohan. She had a tail, brown and furry like  
his, but longer; wrapped around her waist. And with one last scream, revealed her true  
nature.   
  
Journey of the Stars: Meeting the Pure Heart  
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"Did you see Vegeta run, Gohan?" Krillin asked. "I've never seen him so freaked  
out before."  
"Yeah, he was really scared."  
"Imagine, another Saiya-jin. And a woman, no less."  
"Hmm."  
"You're dad's gotta know about this. Let's go everyone." Krillin announced.  
Everyone but Senko started on the last few paces it would take until they got  
to the pods. Senko dropped to her knees, realized that she had just exposed her  
greatest secret. She always kept her animal nature to herself, fearing she would  
lose respect as a bounty hunter. No one had ever questioned her humamoid appearance.  
Well, until now.  
She managed to regain her composure and entered the pod they had. It was rather cramped.  
Sitting at a table in the middle of the room was a man she sort of recognized. She  
thought he looked somewhat like little Gohan.  
Senko stood just inside the doorway and the man approached. Now it was Senko's  
turn to be afraid. He also had wild black hair, but was at least a foot taller than her.  
He also had the build of killer.  
"Welcome!" he announced loudly, with glee. "I'm Son Goku. You've already met my son,  
Gohan, and my friend Krillin."   
The damn name game again, she thought. "I am Senko Li Katsuma."   
She did the point-and-name game again, as well.  
"Jim Hawking."  
"Aisha Clanclan."  
"Twilight Suzuka."  
"Melfina."  
"And the Bot is Gillian."  
"I heard you've a Saiya-jin. Is it true?" Goku asked.  
She uncurled her tail from her waist and held it up to show him. "If having this  
means I'm that, then so be it."  
"Wow, that's really amazing." He took a step back. "I guess I should introduce  
everyone else here then, huh?"  
"That's Tenshinhan."   
Oh great, she thought, a guy with three eyes. As if I don't get enough stares,  
I can now get three eyed-stares as well.  
"Yamcha."  
Well, he's not so bad looking, she thought. Normal looking enough.  
"Chao-zu."  
Uh, don't think I want to know. Mimes scare me anyways.  
"Bulma."  
Great, competition here too. Nice blue hair, by the way.  
"And Piccolo. Vegeta's not here, but you've already met him, I hear."  
"Please tell me, you're a Namekian, Piccolo." she asked of the tall green being with  
antennae.  
"I am. Why do you care?"  
"Because every time I accuse someone of being a Namekian, they either make a face or  
attack me."  
The room erupted in laughter. Har har, she thought. Well, it's true!  
The laughter lasted only a moment. The pod started to shake violently and a plaster  
of some sorts fell lightly from the ceiling. Outside, a thud was heard far off in the distance and the shaking stopped.  
The door busted open behind Senko. In the door frame stood Vegeta, panting and  
holding his left side. "It looks like Senko brought some friends with her."   
he stated in a flat voice. Then he collaspsed.  
  
Journey of the Stars: Rise of the Star-Killer  
*************************************************  
Krillin and Goku helped Vegeta to his feet, but he had trouble standing.  
Senko couldn't believe it; here was the man who had blown open the hatch on the  
Star and could probably kill anyone or anything he wanted; reduced to a stumbling,  
injured boy, incapable of standing on his own. Goku offered him his chair,   
but he refused. It was a little hard for her to deal with, so she helped support  
him on his right side. Oddly enough, he didn't protest.  
"Tell us what happened." asked Jim. "Was he after our ship?"  
"No. I don't think it's anything simple like that." he began. "I was standing  
on a cliff, minding my own business, when this massive ship flew over head. It  
landed within my sight and I went to investigate. He cornered me and said 'where's  
the one with the tail?' When I told him I didn't know what he was talking about, he  
kicked me and threw me into a rock wall."  
"To investigate? He probably tried to steal that ship too..." whispered Krillin  
to himself.  
"You fools, don't you get it? They're after Senko and her freakish crew. That  
want nothing from us. We should get rid of them!" Vegeta yelled.   
In response to Vegeta's last few words, Senko dumped him on the floor. "Fine  
then," she told the room. "We'll leave. I don't know anything about this, but I  
won't put everyone else here in danger."   
"Good...go...we don't need you people here..." Vegeta replied from the floor.  
Aisha, in a flash of movement, kicked Vegeta in the chest. A little crack was  
heard and he grimaced.  
"Enough, Aisha. Let's go guys."  
The crew of the Star left their seats and headed for the door. Once outside,  
Jim questioned Senko.  
"How do we know they're after us?"  
"We don't."  
"Then why did you agree to leave?"  
"If it makes them more comfortable in the face of the coming danger, then so be  
it. Plus, I have to go back to the Star. I don't have my sword or my hand guns."  
"What? You left the ship without your weapons? What were you thinking?" asked  
Suzuka.  
Senko turned on them. "I wasn't thinking. I'm not perfect, damnit. Leaders  
make mistakes too. I've done everything I can to help us survive so far. We will  
make it through this. Everyone will make it make back to Haebalm 5. That's my  
promise to all of you."  
Silence loomed over them.  
"Yeah, somebody's gotta pay the repair bills ya know." Jim added.  
A nervous laugh went through the group.  
The ground began shaking under their feet. Melfina and Jim were knocked over.  
The rest huddled close to the ground. The massive black ship approached from the  
horizon line in the west. It flew directly overhead of the crew, rendering them deaf  
for a moment. It settled over the roof of the Star Chapel.  
The rest of the group left the safety of the pod and joined the crew. Goku  
knelt at Senko's left. "What is that thing?" he yelled over the roar of the ship's engines.  
"It's a monster." she replied. "A killer."  
"Daddy, I'm scared." Gohan whispered.  
"I think everyone is, Gohan." Goku held on to him.  
The roar of the giant ship steadily grew louder. A turntable on the underbelly  
of the ship began turning in circles. Soon sparks could be seen. Within a blink of  
an eye, the ship blasted a hole in the top of the Chapel.  
"Guru..." Krillin whispered. "Is he..."  
Goku dropped Gohan out of shock and he landed with a small thud. Before anyone  
could comprehend what had happened, Senko and Goku took off running for the Chapel's entrance.  
They banged at the giant resin doors, pleading for them to open.  
They failed to respond.  
"It's okay then," said Goku, sighing. "Guru's not in there then."  
They turned from the doors, figuring it probably wasn't the brightest idea  
to be so close to this monstrosity of a ship. They had only gone a few paces when  
the doors blasted open behind them, sending them crashing into the ground.  
The rest of the clan came running, but Goku protested. "Stay back! Protect Gohan,  
Jim, and Melfina!"  
They both struggled to their feet. and turned back towards the Chapel. The wind  
grew weaker, and it was finally possible to walk against it. They entered the doorway,  
walked to the middle of the Chapel, and stopped.  
"What....is...that...?" Goku stuttered as he looked up at the hole where the ceiling  
once was. "It's a monster, isn't it Senko?"   
"Yeah, I think it is."  
The dusk began to clear from the Chapel and they got their first good look at him.  
A man, in all his animal-ness. He stood about Goku's height and had shaggy black hair.  
His eyes were hazel, but red with hate. "Welcome back." he hissed. "Been a while since the  
two of us got together."  
Senko felt ill suddenly. Not the way she had felt when she had been angry at Vegeta,   
this was a thousand times worse.  
"The name-game," he said in a flat tone. "I am Tarirko Sima Katsuma, who are you?"  
His tone changed to a high-pitched squeal. "Yes, who are you? Who? Yes, Senko Li Katsuma,  
who are you?" He broke into a laugh that seemed to deafen her.  
She stood as if she had been turned to stone.  
  
Journey of the Stars: In Defense of a Prince  
*************************************************  
That name. By the gods, if she could only remember more, more clearly.  
If only she hadn't hit her head in the space pod during the collision. If she only could  
remember more about this monstrosity of a man.  
"I am what you see." Senko replied.  
"And that is?"   
"Fool." She paused, suddenly confused. "Wait..."  
"Ha ha! Same old Senko aren't you?" he paced back and forth in front of her,  
studying her, looking for a moment of weakness.  
"I told you fools." a voice added. "He's after her."  
Vegeta sauntered up to Goku. "This isn't about us." He continued walked towards  
Tarirko. "Take her and go. We have nothing for you."  
Tarirko gave a little laugh. "Oh, if it isn't the little Prince again. I thought  
beating you senseless once would have been enough. You damn monkeys never seem to die.  
And to think you've gotten away for so long."  
Vegeta made a face. That comment seemed to take the wind out of his argument,  
and he stumbled backwards. "Monkeys? What do you know about that?" His anger started  
to grow. "You're the animal. I'm a Prince." he said panting.   
Goku tried to calm him, but he pushed him away. He started again towards Tarirko.  
"What do you know? Huh? I want to know!" His temper flared. "You...you did something....to  
them. What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?" He screamed at him, blinded by his rage.  
In an unseen flash, Tarirko grew his katana and sliced him diagonally across the chest.  
Vegeta stumbled backwards, but couldn't get away fast enough. Tarirko grabbed him by  
what was left of his dark blue shirt and threw him into the wall at Senko's left. He landed  
with a thud and a moan. Trying to get up, he pushed himself up against the wall. Senko and   
Goku couldn't move. It had been so long since either of them had been paralyzed with such   
fear.  
There just wasn't time for him to escape. Tarirko walked up to the bloody Vegeta,   
pushed him back down on the floor, and kicked him in the upper area of his chest, as hard  
as physically possible. The crack and scream that followed were enough to make even the   
strongest of stomachs turn ill. He lost consciousness right afterwards.   
"Enough of that. No one deserves to suffer like that," announced Senko. "I'm the   
one you want. You can deal with me. Goku, go."  
Goku turned and looked at her, staring in fear. "Are you sure you want to handle   
this yourself?"  
"You need to protect them," she replied, gesturing to the group. "I need you to watch  
over Mel especially. Do it for me."  
He placed his hand on her shoulder. She knew he would do a good job. They would   
be safe. "Go now, all of you," she announced to the group. "I will be along soon."  
"What about Vegeta?" Goku asked her quietly. "I can't get to him with Tarirko   
standing there."  
"I'll bring him with me. Go."  
Goku left her side and ushered the crew and his friends away from the Chapel.   
Meanwhile, the real discussion began.  
"What do you want Tarirko?"  
"I have to finish the job my minions were sent to do."  
"What is that?"  
"You know, to get rid of any species in this quadrant that could be a threat to my   
power."  
"All right. I suppose you are referring to the Saiya-jins." she said crossing her   
arms across her chest.  
"And you of course. The only female Saiya-jin left. Even a half-blood is still a   
Saiya-jin. You're a threat as well."  
"You are my twin. You are therefore a half-blood as well. Your argument makes no   
sense."  
"I have renounced that part of myself. I even removed my tail. Something you have   
yet to do, I see. I suppose you like going around as a monkey then."  
Her anger started building. Well, what anger she could manage through her fear.   
"I don't care if you think of me as an animal. I am whatever I am to me. And I am   
a warrior of the highest honor."  
"There's no honor in being an outlaw."  
"How...? She was stunned.  
"And I suppose you thought the Kai pirates finding you in this backwater quadrant was  
an accident as well."  
"You tipped them off.." she hissed.  
"Of course I did. I have a need for the Star. A powerful daimyo as myself needs a   
powerful chariot. And what better one than the fastest ship in galaxy."  
"Then landing here...?"  
"It was part of a two-for-one deal. I get rid of the last Saiya-jins and you,   
plus get Melfina and the Outlaw Star. All at once. Beautiful plan, really. It's   
worked the best so far, since I started watching you, that is."  
A moan was heard. Vegeta had regained consciousness and Tarirko was none too   
happy about it. Stomping towards Vegeta, he threw down his bloody katana and drew   
his dagger. He kicked him again square in chest, picked him up, and threw him against   
the large stone alter at the back of the Chapel.   
Having interpreted his actions, Senko was able to be on top of the alter by the   
time Vegeta landed. As Tarirko raised his dagger to finish him off, Senko jumped him,   
knocking him to the floor. Managing to stomp on his wrist, she got him to drop the   
dagger, but he managed to kick her aside. She grabbed the knife to stop him from retailiating.  
"You can't kill me and you know it, Senko. I'm a thousand times more powerful   
than you have ever been. You've become so weak." he picked up Vegeta by the remains of his shirt, at the back of his neck. He looked at him, then held him up facing her. "I don't know why you want him, anyways. I mean, after I tricked him into attacking you and all, I figured you would at least dislike the little bastard. Thinking he could actually get off this dustball. Too bad there's no escapeing."  
Senko threw the knife away. "No more, Tarirko. No more suffering for him.   
Enough."  
He held Vegeta up higher. "What? You want your little Prince? Then HERE!" he   
threw him like a rag doll as hard as he could at Senko. They landed a full 10 feet   
from where she had been standing. She had sort of caught him. Sort of.  
"You monkeys are all the same. Get out of my sight, sister. You're not strong   
enough to fight me now, anyways. Come back when you're prepared to fight and die."  
Senko stood, cradling Vegeta. She had twisted her right ankle, but it was nothing   
major. She limped out of the Chapel, feeling like she weighed a ton. As soon as they   
had exited the doorway, the resin doors slammed shut behind them.   
No longer able to withstand the pain and fear, she dropped Vegeta and collapsed on   
the ground beside him.  
  
Journey of the Stars: Pain of the First Morning  
*************************************************  
Senko awoke.  
The blinding sun filtered through a small round window.  
"Ugh," she muttered, turning away from the window. "If this is the life of an   
outlaw, I'm gonna rethink my career options."  
She finally manage to come to enough to take in her surroundings. She was in   
one of the one room pods. Furnishings were sparse. There was the bed someone had   
laid her on, sometime during the evening and a small table at the side of the bed.   
There were two small white capsules on the table and glass of water.  
"Oh goodie," she muttered. "Pain killers."  
She took both of them dry after finding the water too warm to go down easily.   
She also found a wooden, staff-like cane left under the table. A temporary cane until   
her ankle healed. She managed to pull herself off of the bed and pick up the cane.   
She hobbled towards the pod door.  
"Darn." she complained. "And I was hoping it was all a dream. Or a nightmare.   
Seeing him again makes me sick."  
Finding herself outside, she hobbled over to the Community Pod, lead by the smell  
of food. She pushed open the door and got a bit of a surprise.   
The Pod was empty except for Krillin eating a plate of scrambled eggs and Melfina  
at a little white stove in a back corner cooking. She joined Krillin at the round table.  
"Well there you are sleepyhead, finally decided to join us, huh?" Krillin asked,   
feigning cheerfulness.  
"I'm not in the mood Krillin. Mel, can you make a hard boiled egg?"  
"Sure, I've got one egg left." She replied and set to cooking Senko's request.  
"Geez. Considering we're not dead, I thought you'd be happy." he said bitterly.  
"I knew Goku would take care of everyone. Tarirko is my problem."  
"I heard he's after all of the Saiya-jins, though. Even the half-bloods like you   
and Gohan."  
"Yeah, so?"  
"He's everyone's problem, then." he said, his attitude slowly improving.  
"If you say so, Krillin." She looked around the room. "Where is everyone?"  
Krillin thought for a moment. He put his fork down and proceeded to mark everyone  
off the list with this hands. "Goku, Tien, Gohan, and Piccolo went to train over in   
another village. Yamcha and Bulma went for a walk about an hour ago. Aisha followed   
them. I think she's got a thing for Yamcha. Uh..." He had to stop to recollect his thoughts.  
"Jim went back to the Star, to fix the hatch. He also said he'd bring back the   
Diamond Ki, four hand guns, and a couple boxes of casters. Suzuka went to train on her own,  
somewhere quiet she needed, she said. Melfina and I are going to see Guru this morning.   
Apparently he was visiting another village last night, thankfully. She said we should wait   
for you, she said you wanted to see him as well."  
Senko thought for a moment. "Where's Vegeta?"  
"Oh, he's still in the village Re-Gen Pod. He almost didn't make it this time.   
That moron's gonna end up dead one of these days. And the Balls won't be there to save   
his butt."  
Senko was too tired to inquire more. "Where's the pod? I want to see the damage   
my brother did."  
"Hang a right when you go outside. The Pod will say Re-Gen on the door." Krillin   
replied.  
Melfina handed her her plate and egg. "Should we wait for you to go to see Guru?"  
"No, I'll catch up. Just tell me where to go."  
"He's gonna meet us at a pod up on the hill, outside the village. The sign on the   
door will say 'Meeting of the Minds.'"  
"All right. My brother's ship is gone then, I presume."  
"Flew off not long after you passed out. Goku thinks he didn't leave the planet   
though."  
"Heh. I didn't expect him too. He won't leave until I'm dead."  
Senko stared at the egg. She had no interest in eating it now. Oh well. "Mel,   
do you want the egg? I don't think I can eat it."  
"I already ate."  
"I'm sorry I made you cook it."  
"Don't worry about it. You should get going."  
"All right."  
She hobbled from the table and towards the door.   
"Hey, be careful." Krillin advised.  
She looked at the cane. "Kinda late for that, Krillin."  
"Heh, yeah I guess so."  
Upon hearing his reply, she exited the pod and closed the door behind her.   
She went to the right and spotted the pod. It had lettering on the door at least a   
foot tall.  
"Wow," she mumbled. "You'd have to be an idiot to miss that."   
She pushed open the pod door and got her second surprise of the morning. Inside  
were several Namekians, all hard at work adjusting various knobs and levers. On occasion,  
one machine or another would beep, signally something or other.  
She didn't stop to ask anyone for assistance. She found Vegeta in the back corner,  
on a table covered in a blanket, under a clear half-cylinder. She noticed the white resin  
handle on the front and tried to pull up the cover.  
An alarm at the front of the pod went off, sending all of the green men scurrying   
after her. One of them pushed her away, another knocked her to the floor. When they had  
re-secured the cover, they returned to what they had been doing. She finally stood.  
"Open the lid."  
Silence. They ignored her.  
"I said, open the lid." she repeated, her anger growing.  
More silence.  
"You haven't been paying attention to me, have you? Open the lid."  
Finally, one of the smaller, rounder Namekians approached her, hushing her.   
"We aren't supposed do that. The Re-Gen pod doesn't work that way." he whispered.  
Balancing on the resin handle she threw her cane on the floor. She had had it.  
"Damn you! This planet's really starting to piss me off!" She shouted in response  
to the Namekian. She was on the verge of breaking down.  
Several of the Namekians looked at one another. "Five minutes, that's all you  
get. Hear me? And it's only because your friends are on good terms with Guru." one of them  
warned her.  
The Namekians shut down the machines they were attending to and filed out of the pod.  
The last one out shut off the overhead lights. She opened the lid, it making a slight  
hissing noise in response. Vegeta moaned.  
"I'm real sorry to have to do this, but I need to see how bad it is." She pulled back   
the blanket and he cringed. "That katana slash is real deep. He's gotten so much stronger.   
It'll take an army to stop him." She replaced the blanket. She noticed his clenched fists.   
She opened the right one and held his hand. "Don't worry, you'll be okay. I'm sure we'll all   
get though this."  
But she had trouble believing what she said. It just didn't seem right.  
"Okay, maybe I can't promise that. But I'll do whatever I can to keep him away from   
you."  
He squeezed her hand, seemingly in response. She knew she was through here for now.   
The round Namekian entered the pod again. "It's been five."  
"All right." She answered. Senko replaced his hand and the cover and set out for the   
door.  
"Um, if you want, I'll come get you when he comes around."  
"Okay."  
Man, she thought, what a phony sounding response. I must sound heartless. The real   
heart of an outlaw, Gene would say, was not having one. That never made much sense to her.  
She gathered up her strength at left the pod. She didn't feel better, as she had   
hoped. Worse, much worse. Almost sick with pain.   
Damn you, Tarirko, she thought. No more suffering. No one should have to hurt at   
your hands. Especially since we are one and the same. Identical twins. The memories were   
starting to return.  
Senko managed to keep her composure and started off for the pod on the hill. With   
this cane, she thought, it's gonna take forever to get up that hill.  
  
Journey of the Stars: Meeting of the Minds  
*************************************************  
After the arduous task of weaving through the pod-village and climbing the hill,   
Senko was exhausted. The pod where the meeting has being held was run-down and old. It   
needed a coat of paint, or whatever they coated them with.  
A paper sign on the door, saying exactly what Krillin said it would, was fixed   
just above her eye level. Pushing on the door, she was unhappy to find it locked. She   
pounded on the door.  
"Come on Krillin, let me in." she yelled at the door, pounding.  
A faint click was heard and door flew open. And she got her third surprise.   
A massive Namekian sat on a large stone block in the center of the room. He had to   
be five times larger than Piccolo, and ten times as old. Krillin and Mel sat on the floor   
at his feet.   
"Come in, child. Sit down." his said. His voice echoing off the walls of the   
near-empty pod.  
She made her way over to them and sat down beside Melfina. She seemed pleased with   
whatever Guru had been discussing with them. Krillin seemed cheerful, but he kept looking   
at Melfina strangely.  
"Are you hurt Senko?" Guru asked.  
"It's just a twisted ankle, it'll heal."  
"We don't have the time to wait for you to feel better, you realize."  
She sighed. "I know."  
He turned towards the back of the pod. "Dende, please come over here now."  
A little Namekian child came walking around Guru's left side. "Yes, Guru?" he asked   
in a small child's voice.  
"Take care of that, will you?"  
"Um...yes, Guru." He seemed hesitant.  
He sat down at Senko's leg and placed his hands around her ankle. For instant the   
area glowed. He removed his hands. Senko and Mel just stared at him.  
"Wow," she told him, turned her ankle. "The pain's gone. Nice trick, kid."  
Dende giggled and ran off back behind Guru.  
"Now, shall we begin? Senko?" Guru asked.  
Senko was confused. She thought he was going to tell her something, not the other   
way around. "Um..." she replied.  
"We all know that you're a Saiya-jin, Senko. Word has spread though out the village."  
"Yeah, well, I really don't know what to tell you about that..."  
"And that monster is your brother."  
"Yes, Guru."  
"Why did you lead him here to Namek?"  
"He says he's followed me since the day of the crash, I suppose. And that everything   
that has happened since I met up with Gene and the Star has been controlled by him. He's the  
puppeteer and I'm the puppet."  
"Hmm."   
"Everything?" Krillin asked. "Even getting stranded here?"  
"He says that the Star landing on Namek is just very convienant for him. He was after   
us, but he also has the need to dispose of the remaining Saiya-jins, he said, of which   
happened to be visiting Namek, so I suppose the answer is yes, Krillin."  
"We're all like toys to him," added Melfina, sadly. "Like blocks he can set up, then   
knock down."  
"Guru, what do we do?" asked Senko, crossed her arms across her chest.  
"You already know that answer."  
Then why am I here? she wondered.  
She stood. "I'm not strong enough to take him down by myself, but getting anyone else   
involved puts everyone at risk. Especially the ones he could pick off easily."  
"Like me." added Mel quietly.  
"And Jim and Gohan and Chau-zo and Bulma. We run a greater risk by having anyone   
involved besides me."  
"Let me ask you something, Senko."  
"Yes Guru?"  
"Do you have a code?"  
"A what?"  
"A creed, something you follow. A mental path. All honorable warriors follow a code."  
"Um. No, I guess not. Gene always talks about the Code of the Outlaw, but he's never   
really explained it. He said I would know it when I found it." she said disappointedly  
"We are done here for now then," he said. "Go look at the plaque on the wall, to the   
right of the door, when you leave."  
"But..." Mel started.  
"Guru, you haven't told me anything." Senko told him.  
"You're not ready."  
She sighed. Great, she thought, more games with strange green men.  
Krillin helped Melfina to her feet and followed Senko towards the door.  
They stopped at the plaque. It was of stone, chisled into a thin block, hung on the   
wall.  
This is what they read:  
  
Code of the Brave:  
  
In defense of the lame,  
In honor of the dead,  
In prep for the future,  
  
In support of the oppressed,  
In conjunction with the strong hearted,  
In defiance of the evil,  
  
Divided, yet one;  
One will stand.  
  
It made a little sense to Senko, but a puzzled glance was exchanged between Mel and   
Krillin.  
Upon opening the door, Senko got a shock.  
Goku stood in the doorway, panting. "I've been looking all over for you three. We   
need your help. Gohan's missing. Everyone's out searching for him."  
All they could do was stare at him.   
"Oh no," whispered Melfina.  
"For how long Goku? When did you find out?" Senko asked.  
"About an hour ago."  
Damnit, she thought. He's picking off the weak ones.  
"All right Goku, tell us where to go." she told him.   
He pointed to the left. "Go that way."  
"I'm taking Mel back to the village. And I'll make sure someone is there, no one   
should be left alone."  
"Yeah, good point." added Krillin. Goku nodded.  
"It'll be dark in a few hours. Let's meet back at the Community Pod at dusk.   
If he hasn't been found by then, we can try something else." Goku told her, sadly.  
"All right." Senko told him.  
The group split up, Goku going down the right-hand path, towards a forest.   
Mel, Krillin and Senko headed down the left path, back towards the village. It was going   
to be another long night.   
  
Journey of the Stars: An Uneasy Alliance  
*************************************************  
The group was greeted at the Community Pod's front door by screaming. Senko   
busted open the door and everyone fell silent. But that didn't last long.  
The silence broke. Yamcha and Jim sat at the table, across from one another   
looking over what Jim had brought back from the Star. Aisha and Bulma, standing off to   
Jim's left, were having and all-out cat fight over Yamcha. Something about Aisha   
stalking him or something. Senko was a little surprised to find Vegeta sitting in a   
chair beside the door. Guess they let him go, she thought.  
Yamcha stood up. "I had a message for you," he yelled over Aisha's screeching,   
scratching his head. "But..."  
"But the moron forgot what it was." Jim added loudly.  
"Ugh. Fine, whatever guys." She yelled back. The fighting went on and Senko was   
losing patience, again. "Would you two shut the hell up?!?" she yelled at them.  
Bulma and Aisha fell silent again and looked at the pissed-off pilot. Each walked   
to another side of the room. They seemed to be finished for the moment.  
Senko went to the table and examined what Jim had brought back from his trip to the   
Star.  
"You idiot, you forgot my sword!"  
"I know! I'm sorry!"  
"That's what I freakin' needed you to get!"  
"I know! I said I was sorry!"  
"Grr! All right then, I'll have to get it myself. I'm gonna change anyways." she   
looked over her bloody pants and shirt. "These are exactly battle-ready clothes."  
"So, who's going where. Senko?" asked Krillin.  
"For what?" asked Bulma.  
"What? You guys don't know? Gohan's missing." he said, stunned.  
"What? No way!" replied Yamcha.  
"We need to find him as soon as possible. Tarirko's gonna be looking for him."  
"All right then. I'll take Bulma and..." Yamcha started.  
"No, I'll decide this one." Senko told the lot. Somebody's got to be in charge,   
she thought. She thought it over for a moment. "Jim, take a gun and some casters.   
You and Yamcha cover the area west of here." She pointed in the appropriate direction.  
"Okay." Jim said. He grabbed some casters from a cardboard box he had brought,   
stuck the gun in his pants pocket and left.   
"Oh hey, I remember now Senko." Yamcha told her.   
"What's that, Yamcha?"  
"It was a Namekian that stopped by. He said..." he paused. "Oh, heh, it's kinda   
dumb of me to bring it up now."  
"What did he say?"  
"He said to tell you Vegeta was feeling better and left the Re-Gen Pod on his own."  
They both looked over at Vegeta, still sleeping. Or at least feigning sleep.  
"Guess I'm a little late with that, huh?" he asked, embarrassed.  
"Uh, yeah, kinda. Get going now. And be back here by dusk. Goku said we'll try   
something else if we don't find him by then."  
"Gotcha."   
Yamcha left, following Jim over a near-by hill.  
She looked over who was left. "I hate to leave you two here together, but I need   
you and Bulma to stay here." she told Aisha.  
"What? Oh come on Senko." she whined.  
"I thought this would work. I would send you and Krillin, but I'm not too crazy   
about leaving Bulma and Mel with him." she gestured in Vegeta's direction. "Damn, I need   
another person."  
Fate came knocking . Tien and Chao-zu walked into the Pod.  
"Perfect timing you two. Aisha, go with Tien. Chao-zu, you may or may not want to   
go, I'm gonna give you the option."  
"I want an option." Aisha whined, putting her hands on her hips.  
"Oh shut up Aisha." Bulma told her, sitting down at the table. Aisha ignored her.  
"Hmm." Chao-zu answered. "Goku told us about what happened. I'll go with Tien and   
Aisha."  
"Fine then. Krillin, I'm leaving you here with Bulma and Mel. Okay?"  
"That's fine. But you said no one should go alone. Who's going with you to the Star?"   
Krillin asked.  
She didn't answer his question. Instead, she grabbed a gun and a few casters. She   
loaded one into the barrel and it made a satisfying click. She shoved the casters in her   
pocket, but decided to carry the gun. Better to be ready, she thought. She walked towards   
the still open door.  
Just before she exited the Pod, she reached out and grabbed Vegeta's right arm, yanking   
him off of his chair and onto his butt. "Let's go, little man. No one goes alone, and I meant it. Even at the expense of an argument."   
He woke up upon hitting the stone floor. He blinked a couple of times, but didn't have   
time to protest before she dragged him outside the Pod on his butt. Senko heard Bulma and   
Krillin bust out laughing.   
When he realized what had happened, he pulled away and stood up, brushing himself off.   
He had new armor and clothes. Black this time, instead of blue, but of the same design.  
"What the hell do you think your doing?" he asked angrily, crossing his arms across   
his chest.  
"That's my line, man. No one's going anywhere alone from now on. Tarirko's trying   
to pick us off one at a time, and it's too easy for him to do it if we go alone. We're   
going back the Star. I need my weapon and we'll look for Gohan out that way."  
"What's Kakarrot's brat got to do with your weapon?"  
"Nothing. He's missing, we're gonna look for him out that way."  
"Hmm. Neither of those things have anything to do with me. Why should I go anywhere?"  
She thought for a moment. "So you want to get your ass kicked again by my brother,   
huh? Go out there alone and I guarantee it'll happen. We all stand a better chance of   
getting though this unscathed by teaming up. Plus Goku's gonna be pissed that you   
didn't help out. You know I'm gonna tell him if you don't."  
"Hmph. Fine. A truce then. I go with you out there, as protection only, you   
let me examine the Star's controls."  
Ohh Gene's not gonna like this one, she thought. Aw well, what he doesn't know   
won't lead him to kill me. It's not like I need Vegeta for this. I just promised the   
clan that no one, not even I, would be alone during this hunt.  
"Fine," she offered her hand in prep for a handshake.  
"Agreed." he told her. They shook on it. The moment was an uneasy one for Senko.  
They headed off north, in the direction of the Star.  
  
Journey of Stars: Unusually High Heat Levels  
*************************************************   
NOTE: Changes in POV/LOC are marked by ***  
*************************************************   
As they walked, Senko noticed Vegeta falling farther and farther behind her.   
He sauntered along, not paying much attention to anything, especially her safety.   
Every couple of  
minutes Senko would yell for Gohan, but had no luck finding him.  
"You realize if he took him he's already dead." she heard him yell at her.   
He proceeded to catch up with her all of a sudden, as if he had just remembered that   
they were in  
the middle of nowhere and that yelling across an open field is an easy way to get   
picked off and end up dead.  
"He's not dead. He can't be."  
"Fool. You can drop the positive act. You're just like Kakarrot. Too nice."   
Pissed off again, she dropped back and pointed the gun at him. Feeling foolish,  
she dropped her arm.  
That was it, she realized then. "If he wanted to kill him, he's already dead.   
But..."  
"What?" he asked, crossed his arms across his chest.  
She paused. "Maybe he's after something bigger," she told him.  
They walked the rest of the way in silence. It had already started growing cold   
and Senko wished she knew what the hell had happened to her coat. When they arrived, a   
blue Gillian Bot welcomed her back at the newly-replaced hatch door. Jim had done a decent   
repair job, but it would need a coat of touch-up paint to be up to Gene's standards.  
"Senko, is everything all right?" the Bot questioned.  
"Nothing's been all right since we landed, Gillian."  
Gillian slid open the door and they entered. Nothing looked like it had been touched   
except for the toolbox Jim had forgotten to put away. She kicked it under the front console   
to get it out of the way.  
"I've held up my end of the deal." Vegeta stated flatly and walked into the control room.  
Senko muttered a few curse words under her breath and walked to the back of the ship.   
In her sleeping quarters she found things as she had left them. Her sword was still on the cot   
with both of it's sashes. One red and one black. She chose the black one and picked up the   
sword and it's scabberd, and left the gun on the bed. Changing her mind, she stuffed it in the   
pocket with the casters. She went to the left side of bed and pulled out clothes of a dresser  
attached to the wall, throwing whatever she didn't want on the floor. I just don't have time   
to think about being tidy, she thought.  
She selected a pair of black spandex pants, black panties, and an exercise bra. She   
also added zip-up fleece jacket with pockets that she had thrown on the floor by mistake.   
She would need something warm until she found her coat. She would wear the socks and boots   
she already had on. Senko left for the bathroom to shower and change. She knew it would   
take a few extra minutes, but she just felt she had to. She was fickle about her cleanliness. So shoot me for takin' a few minutes for myself, she thought. No wait, don't shoot.  
"I hope he doesn't take off on me," she said to herself starring at the Community   
Bathrooms' door, then towards the front of this ship. "Cuz then I'd have to go and hurt   
him and get my clothes dirty again." She laughed at how silly that seemed. It was gonna take   
cranes to get him out of this ship.  
She went in the bathroom and proceeded to take her first hot shower in two days.   
***   
Vegeta looked over the control manuals he found under the navagator's seat, while   
sitting in the pilot's chair. Or rather he tried to. It didn't take him long to realize   
that this ship was way over his head. Way too conplex, even for him. Even if the damn   
thing had fuel, he wouldn't have a clue how to make the damn thing run. Plus, Gillian   
told him it required at least Melfina to make it function at it's best. And of course,   
he would have nothing but the best.  
"So damn hot in here," he muttered. He yanked his armor over his head and threw   
it on the floor, then threw his gloves with it. He looked over the tight clothing that   
had been underneath. "Heh, just better remember to put it back on. Don't wanna get caught   
this...exposed..." He leaned back in the chair, relaxing.  
An alarm went off on the pilots console and Gillian's motor whirled.  
"There is an unusually high temperature reading coming from the sleeping quarters   
and the appropriate registered crew is not on the ship. There is a possibility of fire."  
He made a face at Gillian. Ah who cares, I'll be gone before the fire could spread   
this far, he thought.  
Well...he thought. Heh, it's an excuse to go look in the back.  
He threw the manuals on the floor and went in the back.  
He tracked the source of the heat to the back of the sleeping quarters. It ended   
up that there was steam coming from the bathroom. So much for there being a fire.  
"What the hell...? Where the hell did she go? She said she only wanted her   
wea...." he pushed open the bathroom door to investigate.  
***  
Senko stood towel-drying her hair in front of the mirror. She had only been   
able to find one towel, so she couldn't wrap one around herself and dry her hair at   
the same time.  
She tied her hair up in a turban-style and crossed her arms across her bare chest.  
"Heh, look it's Piccolo," she laughed lightly.  
Then put her hands on her hips. "Bulma."  
She dropped her arms at her side and looked sad. "Yamcha."  
Placing her arms like she did in her fighting stance, she said. "Aisha."  
She refolded her arms and scowled at herself. "Veg..."  
The bathroom door flew open and she screamed.  
***  
"GET THE FUCK OUT!" she screamed at him.   
Vegeta probably would have if he hadn't been so alarmed about what was going on.   
He just stood in the open doorway staring at her. She was stark naked and he couldn't   
help but look.  
"Get out!" she yelled again. Senko threw a wet hand-towel at him and it hit him   
in the chest, getting is clothes wet.   
"Damn you!" he shouted back, looking over the body suit. He tried to whip away the   
water with his hands.  
"OUT!"   
This time she threw a bar of soap from the sink at him and hit him in the face. He   
grabbed his nose, yelled something incoherent, and slammed the door.  
"What...hell...was..that...about?" she panted.   
Heh, nice tight pants by the way, she thought, calming down. Heh heh, nice.  
***  
She got dressed and grabbed her sword and sash. She tied the sash around her waist   
and linked the scabbard's chain around it. She shoved the gun in one of the fleece   
jacket's pockets and the casters in the other.  
She stomped back to the front of the ship, wanting to show Vegeta that she was   
still pissed, despite her anger having cooled off. The situation had been kinda humorous.   
Slightly.  
"All right, where the hell are you, you little perv." she shouted.  
"If you are refering to the man who ripped the hatch off, he is outside," Gillian   
replied quietly.  
She got up in Gillian's main camera's view. RIGHT in it's view.  
"Why was he back there?" she asked  
"I was reporting abnormal heat readings."  
"That's impossible and you know that."  
The motor whirled.  
"Gillian, answer me."  
"I don't know what you are talking about. I was detecting unusually high heat   
levels. I simply said that it was in the sleeping quarters and that the correct crew   
wasn't present to handle it."  
"HA! Liar! I'M a registered crew member." she said, pointing at herself.   
"I handle it."  
The motor whirled again.  
"You set me up, didn't you? Why? Why do that to me? Trying to make me more   
uncomfortable having to be with him?!?"  
Whirl, whirl.  
"ANSWER ME DAMNIT!" She stomped her right foot on the floor, rattling the   
naviagator's chair.  
Whirl.  
"I have no idea what you are talking about. Good luck and be careful." it   
whirled again and Gillian switched over to Stand-by Mode.  
"What the hell is going on?" she asked to no one.  
Well, it doesn't matter now, she thought. She grabbed his armor and gloves,   
and replaced the manuals under the navagator's chair. She didn't need more crap lying around.   
She exited the Star and found him sitting outside on the ground.   
She threw his armor at him. "Slob, leavin' your crap everywhere. Get up, we're   
leaving." she said flatly.  
He replaced his armor and gloves, smoothing over his suit with his hands.   
"Hmph. Fine." he replied angerly and shot up in the air.  
"Hey, what the hell?" she yelled up at him.   
"Walking you back wasn't part of the deal." he answered  
She was stood shocked. What's with this guy? she wondered.  
"You're kidding me! Vegeta! You're gonna leave me here alone?"  
He took flight, heading the direction of the village.  
"ASSHOLE! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" she yelled after him, as loud as she could.   
She kicked a little stone at her feet, in anger; it bounced off the Star, creating a   
massive dinging sound.  
Oh great, she thought, NOW I'll get attacked for sure.   
She started off for the villiage, pissed, and saddened by the fact that she   
wasn't going to make it by dusk. It was way past that; it was already pitch-black outside.   
And to top it all off, she still had wet hair and was freezing.  
  
Journey of the Stars: Aisha's Wish  
*************************************************  
Senko trudged alone in the darkness. The moon had risen, thankfully, and   
provided enough light to navigate by. She was kept warm, despite the falling   
temperature, by how angry she was at Vegeta for bailing on her.   
I'm not that hard to get along with, she thought. No, wait a second, it's his   
fault, not mine. Why do I feel bad?  
She walked along the bank of a river, following the current. Yeah, why do I   
feel bad, she wondered. "Oh, heh, maybe it's because I threw a bar of soap hit him   
in the face with it." she said aloud.  
Yeah, that had...no...that wasn't it either, that just didn't seem to be the   
answer to that question. Damn. I just don't know why. Ah well, maybe it'll come to me,   
she guessed.  
Senko walked in silence for a few more minutes, milling over her thoughts.   
When she came to a small bridge, she spotted a shiny object. She picked it up to examine it.  
It was the size of her hand and made a pleasant ringing noise when she picked it up.   
She recognized it immediately. It was Aisha's cat-bell that she wore around her neck.   
She was insanely proud of it, and would never have taken it off the collar piece.  
"Aisha?" she called out.   
Nothing.  
"Aisha?!?"   
Silence.  
"AISHA!" she screamed, looking around.  
A tiny whine was heard, coming from under the bridge. Senko jumped off the side   
of the rocks, into the knee-deep water.   
Under the bridge was Aisha, beaten, bruised, and bleeding heavily.  
"Oh my god, Aisha." she stammered as she waded over to her. "What happened?"  
It seemed difficult for her to answer. Senko could tell that she had a slash   
diagonally across her neck.   
Senko realized that that was how she had lost the collar and bell.  
"He found me. I got separated from Tien and Chao...in the woods...forest..."   
she groaned.   
Senko had never seen her so serious.  
"I'm sorry. Sen....Tell Gene...I'm sorry...couldn't protect Jim...Sen, protect   
them...the weak ones...even the strong are weak...please...for me...please..." and   
then it was over.  
"What? Aisha, what about Jim? Where?" she pleaded, shaking her gently. "WHERE   
IS HE?!?" she pleaded.  
But it was too late. She laid Aisha down in the water and watched her body float   
down stream. Not really a fitting place for her, but her place none the less.  
It's going to get far worse than this, she thought. So many have suffered at his   
hands and so many more will.   
"I'll kill him or kill myself," she promised out loud. "And I don't plan on doing   
the latter. Not anymore."  
With Aisha's bell in hand, she started once again for the village, trying to prepare   
herself for the pain and fear that she knew were still to come.  
  
Journey of the Stars: The Strong for the Weak  
*************************************************   
After finally deciding that Gohan wasn't going to be found out in the middle of   
nowhere, Senko did her best to get back to the village quickly. Unfortunately, it   
seemed to be one of the longest walks of her life. Being all alone, without any cover,   
made her uncomfortable. Every tiny noise made her jump, as her mind was still reeling   
from finding Aisha.  
When she reached the outskirts of the village, she heard a sound that she hadn't   
heard for quite some time. It was someone crying. Assuming that she had found Gohan,   
she went running in the direction of the noise, yelling his name.  
When she reached the area behind a small hill, she found the source of the crying.   
Sadly, it wasn't Gohan, but Goku. She walked up to him and sat down on his right.  
"What are you doing out here? Everyone's probably worried about you." she asked him.  
He sniffed. "I just couldn't go back knowing that I hadn't found him."  
She put a hand on his shoulder and he leaned against her. "Yeah, I understand.   
But no one's should be out here alone. It's just not safe."  
He nodded. "I know. You are though."  
"I didn't have much choice, Vegeta dumped me back at the ship and I had to walk back   
alone." She was tempted to tell him about Aisha, but he seemed too depressed already to  
handle that kind of news.  
"No one's found him yet..." he whispered.  
"We don't know that..."  
"He's dead. That monster killed him! I know it!" he yelled, each word growing   
louder and louder. He put his head on Senko's shoulder and started sobbing. All she   
could do was hold on to him, words just didn't seem to fit the situation.  
A few hills over another conversation was taking place, and Senko and Goku   
were being watched.  
***  
Krillin trudged up the small hill, to where Vegeta was standing. He had been yelling  
his name for the last thirty or forty feet, but he had refused to answer. Whatever he  
was looking at has his full attention.  
"Hey..." he panted when he arrived at the summit of the hill. "I was yellin'..why  
are ya..."  
"Shut up." Vegeta told him coldly.  
"Wha? What's up?"  
Vegeta crossed his arms tightly. "Just look." he said, nodding in the correct   
direction.  
He looked. "It's Goku and Senko. So?"  
Vegeta became angry. "Look at him, hanging on her. Like he's a baby."  
Krillin could now tell what had Vegeta so upset. Goku was half-laying on Senko,   
sobbing. She kept running her hands through his hair.  
"And she's no better." he added.  
"What?" asked Krillin.   
"She's weak. Just like him. They are so damn alike. Weak and foolish and   
optimistic." he huffed. He scowled.  
"She stood up to Tarirko when no one could, not even you." Krillin looked him in   
the face. "Hey, why your nose bleeding? From the soap incident?" He laughed.  
Vegeta was silent, but wiped away the blood with his glove.  
"Aw," said Krillin. "You're jealous, aren't you?"  
"WHAT?" he yelled, turned to him.  
Krillin giggled. "That's it, isn't it? That's why your up here watching them.   
To make sure Goku doesn't get in the way."  
He didn't answer, but turned away from Krillin and the scene below.  
"Ya know," Krillin advised. "It wouldn't hurt to actually be nice to her once in   
a while. You'd probably have a better chance then. I mean, if I was after her, I that's   
what I would do."  
"Being nice is being weak. By the way, I know about you and that android chick."  
"Bio-android," he corrected. He sighed happily. "Melfina. She's so sweet and   
kind. And she cooks some damn fine eggs." He smiled.  
Vegeta snickered. "Whatever."  
"All I'll tell you is this, 'you'll get more flies with honey, then vinegar.'"  
"What the hell does that mean?"  
"People would rather be with someone sweet like honey, as opposed to bitter like   
vinegar. Guru told me that one once, when I was lonely. Don't think I have to tell you   
which of you two is which."  
"Why don't you go back to the pods, little man."   
"Suit yourself," Krillin told him, walking back down the hill. "I still think you're   
going about this all wrong."  
When he was gone, Vegeta sat down on the hill, watching the scene below. He tried to   
be angry about the situation, but he couldn't be. It was difficult sometimes, to act like   
you're mad all of the time. It's draining. He was only mildly upset with Kakarrot this time,   
and it was only because he was there, instead of himself, he realized.   
"Maybe he's not so far off base," he whispered to himself, laying out on his back.  
He watched Kakarrot leave her side and start walking up a hill in their area. He was   
a little disappointed to watch her follow him. Then he had a thought. Maybe if he could get  
Kakarrot to leave her alone, he wouldn't feel so bad. Or he could go pick a fight with him   
and win. It would be an easy win, Kakarrot was so depressed because his brat was missing and   
he was so angry at him for being with her. And if he could prove himself in battle, she'd   
take notice. She had to, she had some Saiya-jin blood in her, battles made Saiya-jins who   
they were, they always admired a winner.  
Didn't they?  
His concentration was broken by Goku suddenly screaming "NO! GOHAN!"  
Vegeta jumped up, flew to the area, and landed beside Senko on the summit of another   
hill.  
She started pushing him away. "Go! Go back to the village..."  
"I..." he stammered in confusion.  
"GO! GET GOING AND BRING BACK HELP!" she yelled.  
He took off in the direction of the village, wondering how the hell he had just   
become the damn errand boy.  
***  
Senko joined Goku at the base of the hill. They stood face to face with Tarirko.   
He held Gohan in one hand and Jim in the other. Both appear to be drugged and unconscienous.  
"Give him to me," Goku pleaded. "He's only a child."  
"Heh. And why should I? Do you really want him back? No woman wants a man who's   
already got kids. Especially my sister." he snickered, gesturing in Senko's direction.  
"You make me sick," she replied.  
"Well, maybe you prefer to have this one back, instead." he asked Senko, holding   
Jim up higher. "Hey, haven't we played this game before, Senko? It's one of my favorites.   
Is it one of yours?"  
Vegeta returned to the hillside. He had brought back with him Tien, Piccolo, Yamcha,   
and Suzuka. They walked up behind Senko and Goku slowly, trying not to alarm them.  
Goku had had it. He leaped at Tarirko, hoping he would drop Gohan while trying to   
protect himself. But, he didn't need the protection.  
Tarirko leaned back. With a single kick to the gut, Goku fell to the ground, crawling   
away from another possible attack. "So, which one do you want back, Senko?" he asked, holding   
them up again.  
"I want them both, you ass."  
He thought for a moment. "The strong for the weak. One pure-blood for each of them.   
That's what it will cost you."  
"It's sick to think I'm even related to you, let alone my twin."  
"I'll...go..I have to He's my son." Goku stuttered. He stumbled over to Tarirko.  
"Fine." he threw Gohan at Senko. She caught him and handed him to Suzuka to hold.  
"One more," he told the group.  
Everyone knew that Vegeta was the only pure-blood left, but he didn't seem to be in a   
volunteering mood. The group looked at each other.  
"I'm waiting..."  
Silence.  
"I don't have time to play your games! I want him! He's a pure-blood. I can tell   
just by looking at him!"   
He was looking at Yamcha.  
Senko and Goku exchanged glances. They knew something that Tarirko didn't.  
"I'll go. If it's for Senko, I'll go. Plus, it's my fault he's got Jim. I'm sorry."   
he told them, stepping out in front of Senko.  
"Agreed!" Tarirko told them. He threw Jim at Senko and she almost didn't catch him.   
She laid him on the ground. Senko, seeing a moment of weakness, drew her katana and ran at   
Tarirko. Instead of hitting her though, he showed his skill by swatting away the sword with   
his hand. It landed about twenty feet away, the blade broken in two. "Try that again and   
I'll kill them right here, right in front of you."   
Tarirko pulled out rope from his belt loop and proceded to tie Goku and Yamcha's arms   
behind their backs. He hit Yamcha in the back of the head when he started protesting,  
making him groggy.   
He turned away and lead them over the next hill, with Goku and Yamcha straining to   
remain standing.  
"Three down Senko! Only a few more to go!" he laughed as they disappeared over the   
hilltop.  
Senko just stared. There he goes, she thought. And Yamcha. Two of the best damn   
people I've met. The most thoughtful of the clan. The kindest. And that was one of my best   
attacks. My fastest. And my best sword. And...  
She flopped down on the ground and buried her head in her knees.  
"This is all too much. All too much." she told them quietly. "Go. Leave me here.   
I need to be alone right now."  
"But...?" Suzuka started.  
"I said go."  
No one moved.  
"DAMNIT! GO! ALL OF YOU! NOW!" she screamed, the sound slightly muffled.   
They group turned away slowly and headed back towards the village.   
Vegeta walked as slowly as possible, as to not get too far away from her.   
He watched her stand up, clutching the large bell in her hand.   
"The strong for the weak," she repeated aloud. "Then no one must be weak."   
She started walking in the direction of a small harvest field.   
And Vegeta followed her, staying just out of sight.  
  
Journey of the Stars: A Star Goes Super Nova  
*************************************************   
Guided by only her instincts, Senko walked towards the field. She no longer had   
thoughts to go on, with all sense having been thrown out the window by Tarirko. He had   
just  
taken two of the best fighters in their clan to their deaths, and Senko had only two   
drugged little boys to show for in return.  
It's not to say that Gohan or Jim weren't important to her. It was just that the   
chances of then actually beating him had just fallen drastically. This was going to force them to learn heavily on Piccolo's defensive strength and Krillin's speed. Suzuka could probably hold out for a little while, but her skills paled in comparison to his. Tien had a few special moves, but that was about it.  
And Vegeta wasn't going to be any help if he wouldn't listen to anyone's advice.   
He'll end up dead too, she thought.  
Senko counted down her list of the others:  
Jim  
Melfina  
Bulma  
Gohan  
Chao-zu...  
"We're dead." she whispered aloud as she entered the field.  
She wasn't sure if she would find what she was looking for. With her sword broken   
for good, she was going to need something else.   
In the middle of the little field, a poll stuck out of the ground at a bizarre angle.   
She grabbed a hold of pole and yanked it out of the earth. As she turned it up right, she   
found what she was looking for.  
It was a hand scythe, about five feet in length. The Namekians used it for threshing   
the little field. She wiped of the loose dirt from the blade. It was rusty and needed to be  
sharpened. But it would do. She took a few practice swings to see if would be of any real   
use in battle or would just slow her down. It made wind-like noises as it slashed through   
the air.  
Swish. Swish. Swish. Thud.  
The blade fell off.  
Her temper lit up.  
"NOTHING WORKS HERE! NOTHING!" she screamed. She kicked the blade and threw the poll   
after it. "NONE OF MY PLANS WORK!"  
She ripped some of the stalks out of the ground and kicked the dirt.  
"I'M NOT CUT OUT FOR THIS LEADER BULLSHIT!" she screeched.  
She took her fighting stance out of rage and her muscles tightened.  
Then it happened...  
***  
Vegeta watched Senko's temper rising. He couldn't believe that this was the same woman   
who was consoling Kakarrot not long ago. She had more power stored in her than anyone had   
realized. And it was his job to bring it out. He got as close as he could to her   
without being in her line of vision  
***  
The blood started rushing to her head. She thought she was screaming, but she couldn't  
be sure, it was as if all of the noise ever created was suddenly being played at once and  
she was being deafened by it. The glow that she had created earlier returned, but it glowed  
much brighter and didn't dissipate. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck start to  
stiffen.   
A light flashed above her eyes and she felt a rush of power.  
The sounds and lights subsided and she was able to get her bearings back. She touched  
her hair. It was as if she had used way to much hair gel or something. It was wild  
around her head, flowing in all directions. It glowed a light golden glow.  
She heard a noise. Someone's breathing.  
She looking around in the little field, but it was far too dark to see anything clearly.   
Listen...  
Silence...  
Silence...  
Something pushed on her back, knocked her forward.   
"Another one." Vegeta said coolly.  
"I still owe you a fight, for ditching me." she said angrily, getting back up.  
"Heh...well..." he started.  
She didn't let him finish. She drew up her right arm and punched him in the jaw,   
sending him flying out of the little field.  
He stumbled to his feet and ran at her. She kicked him in the gut.  
He made another attempt. She side-stepped him and kicked him forward from behind.  
He was slow to get up this time.   
"Wha...are...you...happy now..." he panted, holding his jaw.   
She punched him in the eye, backing him up again.  
"You wanna fight me??" he yelled at her. He roared and went at her again.   
She jumped up and slammed him into the ground with her fists.  
He didn't get up.  
"Are...you...happ'...now?" he panted, unable to stand.   
"Now...now...who's...a...mon..ster.."   
She cried out and feel to her knees. In another flash the power was gone and her   
hair returned to it's normal shade.  
"I'm...sorry...Veg..." she said and passed out.  
***  
He couldn't believe how much strength she had. She had really beat him. It had   
been a while since anyone had actually hit him with that much power. He kinda enjoyed   
her beating on him, for some strange reason.  
He looked her over. She's out, he realized. The powers' not controlled.  
He touched the eye she had hit. It was already swelling shut. "Damn...you've got   
one hell of a punch." he told her.   
He felt blood on his face. Another nose bleed. He wiped it away with his glove   
again.  
He thought about the broken scythe. Somebody could fix it, he figured.  
He grabbed both pieces and jammed them back together, so he wouldn't lose the blade.  
He considered leaving her in the field, but that would give her another excuse to   
beat the crap out of him. He stuck the scythe in his armor's waist ban and scooped her up.  
He flew back to the little pod village.  
***  
It seemed so late to Krillin.  
He was staying in Melfina's pod and told everyone it was to keep her safe. But Vegeta   
already knew he had a "thing" for her.  
But Krillin knew his secret too, so they we're even.  
He passed by a little pod bubble window in time to see Vegeta return with Senko.   
"Wow, what happened to him?" he whispered aloud. "Someone beat him good."  
Deciding to investigate, he walked outside to meet up with them.  
"Hey, what hap-" he started, meeting them at Vegeta's pod's door.  
"Shut up...Here." Vegeta shoved the scythe at him. "She needs this fixed."  
"Well, I.." he stammered.  
"Then find someone who can. I don't care who."  
He punched open his pod door, took her inside, and slammed the door, leaving Krillin   
bewildered.  
"What the heck just happened?" he asked no one. "Ah, well. Heh. Maybe he took my   
advice finally."   
He went back inside with the scythe, and went back to bed. ***  
He laid her down on his bed on her back and she automatically rolled over onto her   
stomach. It had something to do with the tail, it was too difficult to lay on their backs or  
something.  
He looked himself over in the mirror. He couldn't see out of his right eye anymore   
and it was black and blue. His lower jaw was swollen on the right side as well. He looked   
like crap and he knew it.  
He was angry at her for rearranging his face, but he still felt anxious and excited.  
His stomach lurched suddenly and he threw up on the pod floor.   
The kick in the gut, he remembered. The anxiousness was gone.  
He took off his armor, gloves, and boots, throwing them by the door.  
Slob, he thought. Heh. If she only knew.  
Now he wasn't feeling so well. And since it was his bed, it didn't seem fair that   
he should have to sleep on the floor. He crawled onto the bed, on the side closest to   
the wall and laid down. He moaned and shut his eyes.  
Feeling the movement, she rolled over on her left side, curling up against him. He   
put his arm around her waist.  
Heh, Krillin was wrong, he laughed. All I had to do was get my ass kicked to win   
her over.  
  
Journey of the Stars: Return to Guru  
*************************************************  
Dawn had broke at the small village, but Senko wasn't in the mood to be awake.   
She lay on her stomach, praying that the day would go away.  
Tug. Tug.  
Something pulled at her tail. She shooed it away with her tail.  
Tug. Tug.  
She hit whatever the thing was.  
Yank!  
"Ow!" she cried out, coming awake. She lifted her tail. Gohan was hanging on.  
"Hiya kiddo." she told him quietly. "What's the matter?"  
"When's my daddy comin' back?" he asked softly. Senko put him back down.   
She sat up on the bed and looked at him. "I don't know, honey." she said sadly.  
He started crying. She picked him and held him. "I know you're sad. I am too.   
But your dad wouldn't want to know that you're crying about him, he'd be really upset." She  
wiped his face with her hand. He nodded and stopped crying.  
"Stop that! Leave me alone you little, green freak." she heard.  
Senko looked up. Dende was carrying a little wooded bowl and a towel, and was   
chasing Vegeta around the room.  
"If you put this on the pain'll go away." Dende told him.  
"Don't touch me." he replied, pushing Dende away.  
She wanted to laugh, but figured it wouldn't help the sitution. "Hey, hey, guys,   
come on, stop." she told them. They stopped the chasing game. Senko walked over to Dende.  
"Here, let's trade." Senko handed Gohan over to Dende and he gave her the bowl and towel.   
"Why don't you take him back to the Community Pod and get him something to eat."   
"Okay," Dende replied. Gohan was almost too big for him to carry. They left the pod,   
Dende struggling to hold on to him.   
He doesn't have to carry him, she thought, slightly confused. She turned to Vegeta.  
"Oh, sit down ya big baby." she told him.  
He grumbled something about not being a baby and sat down on the bed. Senko dipped   
the towel in the milky colored water and rang out the cloth. She wiped it over his eye and   
he grimaced.  
"Hold still or it'll end up in your eye."  
"Hmph. It'll be your fault if it does."  
"Are you lookin' to get beaten again?" she asked, mildly annoyed, but still applying   
the fluid.  
He muttered something about her getting in a few lucky punches, but kept quiet.  
There was a knock at the pod door.  
Senko looked towards the door. "Who is it?"  
"Krillin."   
"Come in." she answered.  
Krillin entered with the repaired scythe in his hands. He set the scythe near the   
door, leaning it against the wall. He walked over to them and looked over Vegeta's bruises.   
"Man, what happened? They look worse than yesterday."  
"Someone beat the shit out of me, what the hell does it look like?" he replied angrily.  
"Well...um..." he started.  
"Damnit, hold still, will you?" she asked, annoyed. She squared his shoulders,   
forcing him to sit up straighter.  
"Well, anyways," Krillin told them. "There was a message for you at the Comm Pod,   
Senko. Guru wants to see you."  
"All right." she replied, and went back to applying the medication.  
"Uh..." Krillin stammered.  
"What?"  
"He wants to see you now."  
"Right now?"  
"Yeah, he said as soon as you were awake."  
"Fine." she stood up and placed the bowl and cloth at the foot of the bed. "Let's go."  
She and Krillin started for the door, but Vegeta wasn't moving.  
"Come on," she told him. "He said now."  
He scowled. "I'm not going out looking like this." he told them angrily. He crossed   
his arms across his chest.  
Senko shook her head. I'm never gonna understand this guy, she thought.  
She and Krillin left the pod, leaving Vegeta to fume over his looks.  
***   
As she and Krillin walked over to the run-down pod again, he questioned her.  
"So...um...what's up with you and Vegeta?" he asked.  
"I don't know what you mean."  
"He listens to you. And he doesn't protest as much when you ask him to do something."  
She shrugged. She really hadn't thought about it. "I don't know."  
"Really."  
"Yep."  
Krillin fell silent. He was feeling the urge to tell her about the conversation he   
and Vegeta had had on the hill. He just didn't know if he should butt in, it didn't seem right.  
"Well..." he asked. "What do you think of him?"  
"Now there's a loaded question."  
"Why?"  
"Because he's two different people. He's the guy who attacked me and my crew and   
tried to steal our ship. And then he's the guy who's follows me around, watching whom I'm  
with. Making sure I don't get involved with someone he doesn't like...or isn't him." she said.  
Looks like she already knew, Krillin thought. Didn't think much escaped her.  
Then she turned on him. It was her turn to ask the questions.  
"And what about you, huh?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Why do you   
encourage him?"  
"Wha?" he stammered. Krillin was perplexed. She sounds like Bulma, he thought.  
"You know. Telling him the best way to win me over. He was stalking me half the   
night, last night. Then I wake up in his bed. What the hell is wrong with you? Don't   
give him any more damn ideas." she started walking faster to get away from him.  
Krillin sighed. An argument was futile. "I'm sorry, but he seemed desperate."  
She stopped. "Yeah, well! He's not the one stuck a zillion kilometers from home!"   
she replied, waving her arms in the air.  
"Umm..." he started.  
"NEVERMIND! I DON'T CARE!" she yelled at him. "Leave us alone!"  
She stomped off, leaving Krillin perplexed.  
Then he smiled. "She's just like him." he said aloud. "They're in love with each   
other and they're both too proud to admit it."  
He hurried to catch up with the angry half-blood. She'd get over it.  
***   
Senko's anger had cooled by the time she arrived at the pod. She felt bad for   
yelling at Krillin. It wasn't his fault she was stuck in this situation. She pushed   
open the pod door.  
"Come in child." she heard Guru say.  
She stepped before the giant Namekian. "You sent for me?"  
Instead of answering, he put a large green hand on her head.   
Eck, she thought. Slimy.  
Senko relaxed and shut her eyes. She could hear Guru's voice inside of her head.  
"I see you have come far child, but much difficulty lies ahead. All of your   
decisions effect the lives of everyone around you. You have done well in thinking of   
others so far."  
Thanks, she thought. I try.  
"But, the most obvious person isn't being seen. You can't see the forest for the trees."  
Uhh...translation?  
"Don't worry child. I am sure you are on the right path and will realize everything   
before the end."  
End? Who's end? What end?  
He took his hand away. "Go and prepare. The battle ahead will take much strength.   
But always look inside for the real power."  
Great, more riddles from the giant green man, she thought.  
She walked to the pod door, glancing up at the Code. It still only made some sense to   
her. As she opened the door, she found Krillin on the other side.  
He was afraid she was still mad. "So...what did he..?" he asked quietly, looking down.  
She looked at him. "Gather everyone at the Community Pod. Guru says it's time."  
"Okay." He ran off back in the direction of the other pods. He wasn't about to argue   
with her.  
Senko stepped outside the pod and looked in the direction of the Star Chapel. "Three   
days. We have only three days. I can feel it. That's all we have." she said to no one.  
She sighed and walked in the direction of the Comm Pod.  
  
Journey of the Stars: Plans for the Future  
*************************************************  
By the time Senko had returned to the Comm Pod, almost everyone had gathered around   
the small stone table. Melfina was cooking lunch at the small white stove. Senko went and   
looked over her shoulder at what was in the pan.  
Oh man, not eggs again! Note to self, buy Melfina a cook book.  
The pod was crowded again, but not nearly as much as the first time they had all met   
here. That saddened Senko to no end.  
Man, wish Goku was here, she thought as she sat down at the table next to Krillin.   
Maybe things wouldn't seem so grim then.  
Piccolo, sitting next to Jim, started things off. "So what did Guru say?"  
Ignoring him for the moment, Senko took a quick look around the room. "Is everyone here?   
Someone's missing, I think."  
Krillin turned to her. "Vegeta's missing, he still won't leave the pod."  
"Still?"   
"Yeah," he replied.  
"All right, I'll be back in a minute." she told the room, leaving her seat and heading   
for the door.  
"Why do you bother with him?" asked Piccolo suddenly, obviously annoyed. "He doesn't do   
crap."  
"Because I don't want it on my conscious if he ends up dead. Especially if I didn't do   
everything to prevent it."  
"Hmph. Fine, do whatever you want. See if I care." Piccolo replied, crossing his arms   
across his chest. "You and your damned promises."  
Senko was perplexed, how did he know about that promise? she wondered.  
Silence fell over the room.  
She turned to him. "I don't have to explain my actions to anyone, not you, Piccolo,   
not to anyone." Senko told him. She surveyed the room. "Sometimes we have to do something  
things for no other reason then they have to be done. They are obligations, either of the   
body or heart or soul. Watching over Vegeta is one of my obligations."  
"And which of those three does babying him count as?" Piccolo asked angrily.  
Avoiding the question, she opened the door, stepped outside, and slammed the door ***  
Senko made the little jaunt to Vegeta's pod quickly. She wasn't really angry at him   
for not showing, but she wasn't necessarily fond of him trying avoid some responsibility.   
She arrived at the pod and thought about what she was going to tell him. She didn't usually   
rehearse what she told people, but one wrong move with this guy could send him over the edge.   
She had learned that lesson with the native question on the Star.  
She knocked on the door. "Vegeta, we're having a meeting, you need to come over to   
the Comm pod."  
Silence.  
She knocked again, harder. "Hey, did you hear me? We need you."  
Silence.  
Senko was kind of annoyed. What gives him the right to ignore her, she thought.   
I'm the one in charge here, damnit, not you.  
"Hey! Get your ass in gear, Vegeta!" she yelled at the door, knocked hard.  
Now she was pissed. She tried the handle and found the pod unlocked. Well, if she   
couldn't get him to come out, she'd go in and drag him out.   
As she stepped inside, she was surprise to find it quite dark, to the point of not   
being able to see where she was going. Thankfully, having been in the room not long ago,   
she was able to remember the layout relatively well. As she walked to the middle of room,   
she stepped on something.  
She picked it up and examined it. It was his body armor. She threw at the door.   
Slob, she thought.  
She walked a few more feet and stepped on something else. It was difficult to tell   
what it was on the floor. It was stretchy though and made a squeaking sound when she stepped on it. She picked it up and made a face.  
It was the blue body suit he wore under the armor.  
"Uh oh," she said, just a little too loud.  
"Hmm? Who's there?"   
"Uh..."  
Senko watched him sit up on the bed, groggy. He ripped down the cloth that was   
hanging of the pod window. It was what had made the pod so dark.  
Senko got an eyeful.   
"Wha?" he asked, still half-asleep. "What is it?" He rubbed him head with his hand.  
She had forgotten what she was going to say. "Umm....uh..." She wished she could   
look away, but she couldn't. Now she knew how he had felt during shower fiasco.  
"Hmm?"  
She freaked. Senko went running for the door and would have been fine had she not   
tripped over the armor she had thrown at the door. After falling on her face, Senko managed   
to get back on her feet, run out of pod, and slam the door shut behind  
"What was that all about?" Vegeta asked himself, before laying back down and going   
back to sleep.  
***  
Senko ran back to the Comm Pod rather shaken. That image of him of bed was burned in   
her brain. It wasn't a bad image, just a distracting one.   
She ran in the Comm Pod and slammed the door behind her.   
Krillin could see her discomfort. "You okay? Where's Vegeta?"  
"Umm...he's not feeling well. We'll start without him."  
"Told you." said Piccolo coolly.  
Senko ignored the comment. "All right. First of all, does anyone have any ideas?"  
"You mean besides win or die?" asked Jim.  
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Not helping Jimmy."  
"Hey! I told you not to call me that!"  
"Quiet you two." Piccolo told them, taking charge. "How long do we have?"  
She sighed. "Three days. He won't attack us before then. He likes to have his   
opponents as strong as possible so he can feel superior to them when he slaughters them."  
Senko told them.  
"Heh, great." said Krillin, depressed.  
"The best suggestion I can come up is to divide up and train. He won't attack, so   
it's all right to not be together. We can meet a once or twice a day and exchange partners."  
"What do you already know?" asked Piccolo.  
"Um...only my sword techniques..."   
"What are they?"  
"A couple of double slash attacks and a couple of speed slash attacks. But..."  
"What?" he asked.  
"We had the same master, he knows all of my basic attacks. I have nothing that he   
hasn't seen."  
Silence fell over the room.  
"Then you'll have to be a fast learner." Piccolo told her, standing. "I have a   
better idea. Go with Krillin, have him teach you anything you can use. Krillin, you   
can always use the practice."  
"Hey!" Krillin said. "Okay." He didn't seem to want to argue.  
"Jim, find some where to go take target practice. Tien, Suzuka, and I will go   
train on our own. We will meet back here at dusk."  
"What about the others?" Suzuka asked.  
"They should be fine, he's not going to try anything. When it's a plan as rigid   
as this one, he doesn't break routine. And it's routine of him to sit and wait, making   
us suffer the coming of the inevitable." Senko said.  
"Fine then." said Piccolo.  
It seemed like a plan. Sort of.  
Everyone seemed in agreement and began filling out of the Pod. Before the Star's   
remaining crew could leave though, Senko stopped them.  
"Guys, I need to speak with you," she told them. As the others left, the crew sat   
down at the table.   
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. Sorry for dragging you here, sorry for the pain.   
Sorry for all of the trouble that my brother has caused. For everything."  
They sat in silence. Jim was about to say something, but was interrupted when the   
Gillian Bot on the table chirped.  
"Incoming voice message, shall I play it?"  
"Yes Gillian," Senko told him.  
It was from Gene. "Hi there guys! Hope you're all having a good time without me!   
I hitched a ride on the fuel ship and we'll be arriving in about four days. I know,   
seems like  
forever, but just hold out a little longer, okay? I'm bringing supplies too, so ya won't   
have to eat eggs forever! Catch ya later! Bye!"  
Gillian shut down the transmission. "Shall we reply?" he asked.  
They all looked as Senko. "No." she said coldly. "I don't want Gene to have to see   
what's going on. Tarirko's like a disease. Enough people are having to deal with the   
sickness of my brother. I don't want Gene to get it too. Get going now guys, everyone's   
waiting."  
Everyone filled out of the pod, leaving Senko at the table. She couldn't move, it   
was as if her body was stone. She had no chance against him. He would crush them all.   
And make her watch every brutal moment of it.  
  
Journey of the Stars: Day of the Midnight Sun  
*************************************************  
Senko, after getting over the crushing realism that she was outmatched and outclassed   
by her own brother, joined Krillin outside. They walked a few hills over and decided to   
square off.  
"Okay," Krillin said. "Let's start with something simple. Try to focus your power."  
Um, that's easy. she thought. She took her fighting stance and focused her power   
into her clenched fists. "Okay, what's next?"  
Krillin was a little perplexed. "Well...okay, catch this." He fired a baseball-sized   
Ki blast at her.  
Heh, stop it Krillin, you're making this too easy. And it's hard to lie well when   
it's is too easy, she thought. She grabbed the blast and squashed it in her first. It   
exploded like a rotten vegetable.  
Now Krillin was very confused. What's going on? he thought. She said she didn't know   
any Ki attacks. "All right then, avoid this." He powered up for a minute. "Ki-en-zan!"   
She side-stepped it, allowing it to carve out a section of the hillside behind her.  
He just stared at the hole in the hill in silence. "Okay, I have another one, block   
this..." He stood firm, spread his legs apart, cupped his hands and aimed for her. "Ka...me..." A ball of light appeared in his hands and started to grow.  
Senko crossed her arms diagonally and balled her fists, holding them out in front   
of her face. "You better be prepared to move." she told him.  
"ha...me...HA!" he yelled, and let the blast go.  
As the blast approached she yelled, "RETURN FIRE!!!"   
The blast bounced off of her arms and went racing back towards Krillin. He ducked and   
it narrowly missed the top of his head.  
She relaxed her stance. "Now, can I show you a technique?" she asked.   
"Um...okay." he replied, very unsure of himself. He stood up and took a fighting stance.  
She concentrated her energy into her chest. The flash occurred, the glow returned to   
her hair and eyes, and she stopped powering up. That little bit of Ki-centering was enough   
for her to go Super on him, especially since she had no intention of hurting him. To further   
prove her power, she focused some energy into her right hand, held her palm up and at Krillin,   
and sent a Ki-blast whizing just past his left ear.   
Krillin's jaw hit the ground.   
"Now you know who beat the crap out of Vegeta, don't you?" she said, smiling, putting   
her hand down.  
"Whoa. No way! You're a Super Saiya-jin?!? Does anyone know about this besides me?" he   
asked excitedly.  
"Only you and Vegeta. But I screwed up last night and ended up passing out, so he   
thinks I'm a newbie at doing it. I sent the extra energy to my brain, instead of my chest.   
I lost all control and fried a few brain cells. I didn't plan on beating his face into a blue   
and purple pulp, either. That was me out of control. " she explained.   
He laughed. "Well, I guess you didn't really need this training did you?"  
She shrugged. "I picked up that disk technique and what was that? The 'turtle wave'?   
That might come in handy, thanks."  
"No problem.," he continued. "By the way, can you fly?"  
"Yeah, I can." she replied.  
"Why haven't you been? I know I'd fly instead of walk anyday."  
She sat down on the grass. "Because if I was going to keep quiet about the whole thing,   
I had to stay on the ground. Trust me, I wasn't thrilled about all of the damn walking."  
Krillin sat down beside her. "If you didn't tell us this, is everything you've said a   
lie? Or just not the whole truth?"  
"I wish I was lying." she said sadly. "Everything I have told you about Tarirko's   
powers are true, and we did have the same Master. But I was able to pick up other techniques   
from Masters on planets or stations that I stopped on with Gene."  
"Okay, but why keep it quiet? Why not scare him off?"  
She shook her head. "He doesn't scare and he's still much stronger than me. Maybe not   
the thousand times he thinks he is, but quite a lot. Plus, there's another issue."  
"What?"  
"Everyone is going to have to give everything they have in the battle. By making it   
look like I was weak, I thought that it would encourage everyone to give everything they   
have. Plus, there's a chance he's not yet aware of the extent of my powers, and I needed to   
wait as long as possible to expose them. Nothing really has changed. Things are still   
slanted in his favor, and I am still going to lose."   
"Okay," said Krillin, feeling depressed at that thought. He looked over at her tail.   
"Hey, you still have your tail, don't you! Why don't you just go 'ape' on him, like Vegeta   
did to Goku?"  
Senko looked at him. "If it were only so simple. A Saiya-jin in his or her 'ape' form   
loses all mental control. Like every sleeping animal instinct kicks in, all at once. Female   
and weak Saiya-jins have an especially difficult time controlling the energy. The last time   
I went 'ape,' I wiped out an entire space port in the matter of minutes. And I wasn't even   
angry. An angry Oozaru can destroy an entire planet in minutes. To this day, I'm still not   
allowed within the Sykan star system, for fear I'll destroy everything. They think I'm the   
devil sent straight from Hell."  
Krillin thought about that, having a flashback of Goku's fight with Vegeta. Then he   
resumed the questioning. "Okay then, one more question. I love talkin' with you, by the way,   
you're so open and honest. Okay, how did you find out you were a Super Saiya-jin? By accident?"  
"Heh, thanks, I try to be." She made a slight laugh."Yeah, pretty much. I went off   
on this guy who was after Gene. Fred somebody...I don't remember it too well now. That's   
why Gene's never been afraid to let me take the Star. He knows I could kick anyone's ass who   
came after the others. Too bad Tarirko doesn't fall into the 'anyone' category. He's not   
human, he's not even a Saiya-jin. He's just a animal, a monster like the ones in storybooks   
that parents read to their kids. Too bad there's a bunch of princesses to save and no princes   
to do it."  
"Yeah, this isn't exactly fairy-tale material, is it? Our story is defiantly one I won't   
tell my kids before they go to bed. If I ever get past the hunting for a girlfriend stage, that is." he said, laughing.  
Senko relaxed a bit and the Super Saiya-jin characteristics disappeared. She stood up,   
surveying the land down south of them. "Man it's so quiet here..."  
She never finished the sentence. In a heartbeat, she was hit with the force of a missile at high-speed, from the rear.  
She flew forward. She stumbled around in strange circles a couple of times, dizzy. "Hey   
Krillin, did ya get the Reg number of that ship?" she asked, extremely disoriented. She spun   
around again and fell on her butt.  
***  
"What the hell was that for, Vegeta?!?" yelled Krillin.  
Senko shook head and came back to reality. "Wow, now that's gonna leave a bruise,"   
she said, standing up and rubbing her back. She turned to Vegeta. "Yeah, what the hell WAS   
that for?"  
He had a incredibly cocky smirk on his face. "So you've been lying to us the whole   
time, huh? Why didn't you just kill me, if you're so mighty, Ms. Super Saiya-jin?"  
"What the hell do you want Vegeta?" asked Krillin.  
"Simple, I want another chance at her. I want her to see the true power of a real   
Super Saiya-jin. Not one who's soft."  
Senko was angry, but wasn't in the mood for his pestering. "I'm not interested in   
fighting you again. You had three chances to get rid of me and you failed at each one.   
Let's leave it at that." Then she turned away from him.  
"I'm not asking you, fool. I'm telling you. Be here at nightfall and I'll show you   
a true Saiya-jin's power."  
"Man, you are so full of yourself, Vegeta, I swear." she said, crossing her arms   
across her chest. "But if this'll end this Super Saiya-jin BS with you, I'll be here."  
"Fine. Heh, have a nice afternoon kid, I can't promise you'll see another one after   
I'm done with you." he said. He took flight and flew off south of Krillin and Senko.  
"I don't get," said Krillin, perplexed. "For a guy in love with someone, he sure has   
a funny way of showing it."  
"Heh, yeah I know. But it's more of a physical thing. He likes getting his ass kicked   
by me. It gets him going, you might say." Senko replied, giving Krillin a wink.  
Krillin laughed.   
His stomach growled. "Hey, I'm kinda hungry, you wanna head back?"  
"Yeah sure, I could use a bite before I whip Veggie's ass." she replied, laughing.  
"Are we having eggs, again?" he asked, rather disappointedly. "I'm not sure I can   
stand anymore eggs."  
She made a face. "Yeah, sorry man, we're out of supplies, and she can only cook eggs   
two ways. I'm workin' on getting Mel a cook book though, so don't worry. You two won't have   
to eat eggs forever."  
"Wait, how do you know...?"  
She winked at him again. "There's a lot I know, that people don't realize I know.   
All right, let's go."  
"You wanna fly or walk?"  
"We can fly, the cat's already out of the bag."  
"What bag?"  
She gave a little laugh. "Nevermind."  
They took flight and flew back to the pod village.  
***  
When it was sufficiently dark outside, Senko returned to the hillside. It was easy   
to spot, even from the air, by the huge chunk of rock missing from the side of the hill.   
She landed and looked around.   
She was surprised to not find Vegeta already here. "Now, I didn't expect this.   
Vegeta, fashionable late? That's not..."  
She was kicked forward from behind. Then he appeared before her. "Couldn't even   
feel me coming? What kind of a Saiya-jin are you?" he said coldly.  
She took her fighting stance. "One that's gonna kick your ass, produce-boy. Bring   
it on!" She powered up, sending the extra energy to her hands.   
She fired a basketball-sized Ki-blast at him, but he was gone before it even came   
near him.   
"Behind you!" he yelled, kicking her forward into the dirt.  
She rolled two-thirds of the way over, onto her left side, and fired again. Another   
miss.   
Senko stood up, trying to prepare herself.  
"What's this?!?" he yelled. "Where's the power I saw last night?!?" He kicked her in   
the gut, making her queasy. "Is that all you've got?!?"  
She stumbled back and powered up again, sending the energy to her chest. She was able   
to build enough to go Super on him, but she wasn't sure how long it would last against someone   
as strong as him.  
"EAT THIS!!!" she screamed. She fired a Ki-blast the size of a small car at him.  
He side-stepped it.  
"Damn you, hold still!" she yelled at him, in disgust.  
The cocky smile on his face grew. "Now, watch this," he said coolly.  
He powered up and Senko felt the ground shaking beneath her feet. She watched a golden   
glow flash around him, and he went Super on her.  
"Try and dodge this!" he yelled, he threw a dozen small Ki-blasts at her, at rapid-fire   
speed.  
She managed to side-step most of them, but one grazed her right shoulder, sending a wave   
of pain up and down her arm. For a moment her vision doubled, but thankfully, it lasted only   
a few heartbeats.  
"WANT SOME MORE?!?" he screamed. He flew up in the air and fired a blast the size of   
the pod houses at her.   
Senko leaped to the side, knowing full well she could neither stop it, nor deflect it.   
She decided to try Krillin's technique from earlier. She aimed and fired.   
"Ki-en-zan!" she yelled out.  
"WHAT??? You think I haven't seen that one before?!?" he yelled in return, knocked the   
disk away with a quick, fist-sized blast. "Try this one!" He fired a set of four large blasts   
at her. "This one shouldn't be tough for a Super Saiya-jin!"  
Senko crossed her arms diagonally in front of her face. "RETURN FIRE!!!" she screamed.   
The blasts hit her in the arms, then bounced back in Vegeta's direction, at three times the   
speed he had launched them at. With the speed at which they were traveling, he was only able   
to dodge the first three, the fourth one hitting him the chest. She looked up at him, seeing   
that his clothes and hair were singed, decided that enough was enough. This just wasn't doing   
any good and it was a waste of both of their time. Besides, she thought, they were other   
things they could be doing together besides trying to brutally kill each other.  
She brushed herself off and started walking off. "Hey, come on now, enough of this,   
this isn't doing anything but wearing us out. We have a bigger battle to deal with. Let's..."  
Once again, he decided to not let her finish her sentence. She heard him scream   
"NOW I WIN! GYARIKKU-HO!!!" and as she turned back around she saw it.  
The blast lit up the surrounding sky. It was like looking into the sun, but with   
it racing at you hundreds of kilometers an hour. Just looking at it burned her eyes, but   
she couldn't turn away. She could hear screaming, but wasn't sure if it was her or Vegeta.   
There just wasn't time to react. No time to form an attack. Not even time to throw her arms   
up. She was it's target and it would hit her dead on.  
Suddenly, everything went white.   
  
Journey of the Stars: Prelude to the Final Battle  
*************************************************  
It had only taken three seconds, from the time he had announced the attack till   
the energy blast was gone. The blast had carved a massive crater in the ground, at   
least fifty feet in diameter and twenty feet deep. And in the bottom of the crater was Senko,   
on her stomach and unmoving.  
Vegeta stood on the edge of the crater, panting. What the hell happened? his  
mind screamed. She should've blocked it or moved or something...anything.  
He jumped down in the hole and started shaking her. Her body still fumed from the   
intense heat and the Super characteristics were gone. "DAMN YOU! GET UP!"  
Nothing.  
"YOU CAN'T BE DEAD! NO! GET UP! YOU'RE A SUPER SAIYA-JIN, YOU SHOULDN'T BE DEAD!!!"  
Nothing.   
He rolled her on her back, knowing if she was aware, she would flip back over onto   
her stomach.   
Nothing.  
Suddenly realizing what he had done, he broke. Tears started steaming down his face.  
"I didn't mean it! Get up! I...DAMNIT!" He pounded his fists into the ground.   
"I KILLED HER!!! GOD DAMNIT!!! WE'RE ALL DEAD NOW!!!" he shirked.   
The pain turned into fear. He scrambled back up to the surface and looked around.   
He thought about what the others would do to him if they figured out it was his fault.   
He was far enough away so the others probably wouldn't find him in time if he left.   
Tarirko would kill them and he'd be okay.   
That's it, he thought. I'll get away. That can't kill me if they can't find me.  
He looked over his armor. Both the armor and body suit had burn holes. It would   
look obvious that he had something do with her demise.  
I'll steal some armor from the Re-Gen pod, he thought. Then I'll escape.  
He turned around and looked back down into the crater. He couldn't escape and he   
knew it. His conscious just wouldn't let him. He felt too much for her to just run away.   
The guilt of his actions further killed the idea.  
I'll get the armor and come right back, he thought. I'll come back and stay in the   
area until someone finds her. I need the armor anyways, this one is no good full of holes.  
He dried his face with his glove and flew up. Finding the place again would be easy,   
most of the hill was destroyed.  
Vegeta flew back to the village, hoping he wouldn't run into anyone on the way.  
***  
Around mid-morning sunlight reached the bottom of the crater, and the   
supposedly-dead Senko stirred. She flipped back onto her stomach and tried to get up.   
She made it as far as being on all-fours before the queasiness set in. As she stood   
erect, her stomach lurched and she threw up. It was little more than blood and dirt.  
She rubbed her head. Man, what a hit, she thought. Thought that was gonna be it   
for me that time. And moron me, just standing there, lookin' at it. Like it was gonna go   
away if I wished hard enough. And I know that doesn't work, I've tried it on Tarirko.  
She coughed and sputtered for a few more minutes before being able to continue on.   
She looked around at the massive hole in the ground and really wondered why she wasn't dead.  
No time to care, she thought as she climbed out of the crater. Just be happy about it.   
When she reached the surface, she looked over her clothes. The jacket was gone,   
burned away by the impact. Her pants and bra had done better, the bra was mostly intact   
and despite the gapping holes in her pants, nothing was showing.  
She flew up in the air twenty or thirty feet and looked around. On the next hill   
over, she could see someone. She thought it was Vegeta, but this character had a blue   
under-covering and his armor only went to his waist. She took a hard look.  
Yeah, that's him, she thought. Hard to mistake someone with that kinda hair.  
She flew over to the next hill and landed behind him, not want to scare him.  
***  
When she landed, she saw him whip his head up and look around. "Who's there?" he  
said, shaken. "Where are you?!?"  
"Hey there!" she called out, waving.  
He jumped to his feet and whipped around. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and   
he looked as if he had just seen a ghost. He ran up the hill and looked her over, like   
she shouldn't be standing there.  
"What's with you?" she asked perplexed. "You look like you've..."  
He grabbed her and hugged her, squeezing tightly.  
Senko patted him on the pack. "Yeah, good to see you too, Veggie." She struggled   
for a second. "Okay...too tight...too tight..."  
He loosened his near-death-grip on her and looked her in the eyes. "I swear.   
I thought you...were dead." he panted. "  
She smiled. "Oh really, I thought you just chickened out on our fight and split."   
She winked at him.  
"But that blast, you just stood there. Took it head on." he said in amazement.  
Senko gave a little laugh. "Well, they say we Saiya-jins are nearly indestr..."  
He bent down and kissed her on the mouth, cutting her off. He seemed overly anxious.   
Senko noticed a trickle of blood coming out of his nose.  
"Hey," she said pulling back. "When are you gonna let me finish a sentence?"  
"I just did." he said, smiling. He wiped away the blood with his glove and kissed her   
again.   
"Um...yeah, sure...hmm..."   
He pulled back. "I have a better idea." he stated suddenly.  
"Wha....?"  
He scooped her up and flew back in the direction of pod village.  
***  
Senko stretched and sat up on the bed. They were nearly impossible to lay on without   
getting cramps. They were just so darn tiny. Put someone else on the bed, and it was damn   
near impossible to move.  
"Are you okay?" she heard Vegeta ask quietly.  
"Oh yeah, these darn beds hurt, that's all. It's like laying on a bed of rocks." she   
replied. Senko looked around the room at the scattered clothes. "You are such a slob, I swear. Throwing everything every which way." She turned back to him.  
He smirked. "Like you minded me ripping off your clothes."  
She laid back down and curled up on his left side, he put his arm around her back.   
"It's finally quiet. No one's running around yelling. No one's looking for me. Nothing."  
"Try and get some sleep, you haven't slept in days." he advised.  
"I slept in the crater." she told him.  
"That doesn't count as sleep."   
"Hmm." she looked up at him. "I didn't know that could happen. To a guy."  
"What?"  
"Going Super...during...you know..." she said bashfully. "When he..."  
He pulled her on top of his stomach, a twisted smile on his face. "You wanna see   
me do it again?" he growled in her ear.  
She smiled. It was the first time in months she had actually felt relaxed. She   
laid her head on his chest and examined the scare that was left from Tarirko's second   
attack on him. Then she closed her eyes and went to sleep.  
***  
The stillness was broken by pounding and screaming at the pod door. Senko was so   
shocked by the noise she fell off of the bed and onto the floor, landing on her butt.  
Vegeta looked over the side of the bed. "Aren't you a coordinated one?" he smirked.  
She stood up and stuck her tongue out at him. "Slob."  
The pounding happened again. "SENKO?!? ARE YOU IN THERE??? WE NEED YOU!!!"   
someone screamed.   
She scrambled around for a moment and found her bra and panties and put them back on.   
It took a minute of looking, but she managed to find her pants. They had been kicked under   
the bed. She pulled them on and went to the door.  
She opened the door and stuck her head outside. "What is it?" she asked hurriedly.  
Krillin stood on the other side of the door, looking like his world had just come   
crashing down around him. There were tears in his eyes and he looked truly scared.   
"Melfina's gone!" he yelled in reply.  
"WHAT?!? SINCE WHEN?!?"  
He shook his head. "I don't know. Tien came and got me a few minutes ago.   
Me and Gohan had gone out for a walk. He said he couldn't find her, he had gone to   
ask her a question about dinner and she wasn't in her pod or the Comm pod...."  
"....and Mel doesn't take off like that." Senko added, finishing his sentence.  
She noticed Krillin was shaking. "What is it? Is someone else missing? WHAT?"   
she asked, the volume increasing with every word.  
"In the Comm Pod...Tien found...Suzuka...she's...she's dead." he stuttered.  
Senko felt as if she had been hit in the gut. "No...she can't be...we need her..."  
"Tien said when he went in he found the pink Bot smashed to pieces on the table   
and Suzuka behind the door...with...with.." he stuttered.  
"KRILLIN!!! WHAT?!? WITH WHAT?!?"  
"With...with her sword through her chest." he said softly, turning away from Senko.  
Vegeta joined them at the door, trying to hide the fact that he wasn't wearing   
anything. "What is it? What's going on? Senko, you said three..." he said.  
"He's early. We have to move. Tarirko's caught me off-guard." she told him.  
Krillin turned back to them. "We're all meeting at the pod we've been meeting   
Guru at. We have to go now."  
Senko turned and looked at Vegeta, unsure of what to do for a moment. "Go. I'll   
catch up with you." he told her. He stepped back inside the pod and handed out her scythe.   
"I'll meet you there. They need you." he kissed her on the cheek and shut the door.  
Krillin looked at her. "Should I even ask?"  
"No." she told him simply.   
"Didn't think so." he replied as they started off for the run-down pod.  
It would not be too long before Senko would realize that leaving Vegeta alone in   
the pod would prove to be a significant mistake on her part.   
  
Journey of the Stars: The Final Game   
*************************************************  
"It's not that I'm adverse to dying in battle, it's just I'd just prefer it not be   
today." Senko told the remaining members of the group, who had gathered at the old pod for   
a final meeting.   
"Which means...?" asked Krillin.  
"I will not lose, I will not. I may be battered and beaten and bloody, but I will   
not die at his hands." She paused. "And I hope that's what all of you are thinking." She   
looked around the pod. Krillin's and Jim's nervousness was evident. Tien remained silent.   
Piccolo was stone-faced, but his eyes could not hide his discomfort at what lie ahead.  
"Do we have a plan?" asked Jim, quietly.  
"Honestly? No. I have no idea what to do. I haven't physically fought him in a very   
long time, I have no idea of the extent of his power. He could blow any plan of attack away   
in seconds. But I know I want you to stay here, Jim. Watch over Gohan, Bulma, and Chao-zu.   
And Melfina, when everything is okay. I need that of you."  
"All right," he said. He handed over the castor gun to Senko. She retied the sash around   
her waist and stuck the gun in it's folds. She then changed her mind, giving them back to him.  
"I won't need that," she said. "He's too strong to use a castor on."  
Piccolo leaned against the wall, he spoke to Senko. "So who's going? Me, you, Krillin,   
Tien, and...." he looked around the room. "Where's Vegeta?"  
Senko's eyes lit up. "Damnit!" she yelled and ran out the door, back towards Vegeta's   
pod.  
***  
Her fears were confirmed. The door of the pod was on the floor, broken off of the   
hinges. The room was trashed. The bed was slashed and fuming.   
She panted. "I...I...can't believe...I didn't see...see...it." she told the group   
when they had reached the pod. "One more...one more game...to play..."  
Senko felt like crying and screaming at the same time. She had played right into   
her brother's hand. But she knew she had to hold it together, she owed everyone that much   
at least.   
Senko, Krillin, Piccolo, and Tien took the short jaunt to the Chapel and stopped in   
front of the massive doors. Once again, the doors blew open, sending them flying forward.   
Senko picked up the scythe that had gone flying from her hand and helped Krillin up.   
Piccolo and Tien stood and brushed themselves off. The four looked at each other and walked   
back to the entrance.  
Letting Senko lead, they entered the once-holy sanctuary and stood before the Devil   
himself.  
***  
"Welcome!" Tarirko yelled at the four.  
Senko examined the room and felt nauseous. The bodies of everyone who had died   
so far lay on the floor. She looked around the room. They all lay on their stomachs,   
looking truely dead.  
Aisha....her body bloated from being in the river...  
Suzuka....a massive hole through the middle of her back....  
Yamcha...his body bruised and covered in slash marks...  
Goku...a slash across the neck...just like Aisha...  
She bent down beside Goku and ran her hand through his hair. "We're taking care   
of him, don't worry." she whispered.  
"ENOUGH OF THAT!" she heard Tarirko scream. She came back to attention.  
The next thing she saw was no better than seeing her comrades dead. In his left   
hand he held Melfina by the neck, on the verge of crushing her windpipe. Senko could   
see her shaking and on the verge of screaming. On the floor, under his right foot, was   
Vegeta on his back, as beaten and bloody as he had been after their second encounter,   
except this time Senko could see real fear in his eyes this time. Tarirko held a large   
silver broadsword, pointed at Vegeta's midsection.  
"MELFINA!" she heard Krillin scream, on the verge of tears. Senko held him back   
and he calmed down slightly.  
"I have one more game for you, sister." he said sweetly. "Just one more."  
"I came here to kill you, not to play games." Senko told him coldly, pointing the   
scythe at him.  
"Oh, but you see, you don't have a choice about that. We'll play a game. Shall I   
tell you which game it is?"  
"I've already played this game. And I don't wanna play again."  
"Is it because you lost? You always were a sore loser." He laughed. "All right then.   
Which one?"  
"Which one what?" she asked angered.  
"Stupid fool. Which one do you want? Your lover or the one you swore to protect."  
"I've sworn to protect them both."  
"You and your damn promises. Well?"  
Senko could feel the hurt rise up in the center of her chest. Like the pain of   
crushing defeat. Tarirko already had her beat, she couldn't save them both. But she   
had to consider who had a chance to survive.  
She looked at Tarirko with tears burning in her eyes. "Melfina." she said quietly.   
Then she put her head down.  
"HA! I knew you'd play!" he yelled glee. He pulled Mel up to her feet and pushed   
her at Krillin. He grabbed her hand and ran, pulling her out of the Chapel.  
Tarirko looked down at Vegeta. "It looks like my sister wasn't that fond of you after   
all," he told Vegeta smirking. A look of terror spread across the Prince's face. "So, what   
should I do with you." He paused. "Oh, I know..."  
Holding the sword vertically, he jammed the blade into Vegeta's gut, until the point   
hit the stone floor with a slight ping. He started screaming and thrashing, but Tarirko   
didn't stop the torture. He turned the sword in the wound a 180 degrees, opening the gash   
and allowing blood to go spilling on to the floor.  
"STOP THIS!" Senko heard herself scream, looking up.   
"Oh, but I thought you didn't want him?" he asked coolly. Angling the sword slightly   
down, Tarirko pulled it up, with Vegeta skewered on it. He screamed and thrashed in response.   
Holding on to the blade, he tried to push himself off, blooding his hands.  
"Oh look Senko, a shrimp on a skewer. So tell, how do you like your monkey done?   
Medium rare or well done?"  
Senko stumbled back a step and had to control the urge to vomit. There was just so   
much blood, far more than she had ever seen. And the screaming made it all the more real.   
Krillin returned to her right side and she was forced to lean on him for a moment, telling   
him not too look. Even stone-faced Piccolo grimaced and turned away. Tien had turned green   
and was bent down, refusing to look.  
"Stop this! WHY?!? WHY DO THIS TO HIM?!?" she yelled, finally regaining enough composure   
to stand on her own.  
Ignoring her, Tarirko took notice of the fact the Vegeta was pushing himself off of the   
sword. "Hmm. Have to do something about that. Looks like this kill isn't ready to be grilled   
yet. He's a lively one, I'll give him that." he said, looking over the screaming man.   
Tarirko walked over to the pod wall and felt around on it's surface. He found a hole   
about three inches in diameter and stepped back. He jammed the end of the sword into the hole, until it could go no further.   
He pinned the Prince to the wall, like a trophy of some sort. His back was against the   
wall and the hilt of the sword was stabbing him in the chest, keeping the wound from closing.   
He was propped up, about a foot off of the floor, and being so short, his feet couldn't reach   
the floor. Vegeta's own weight was ripping the whole larger. Streaks of blood ran down the   
back of the wall, pooling on the floor below. He screamed and kicked at the wall.   
Tarirko stepped back, laughing. He walked to the other side of the pod and sat down,   
waiting for Senko to make her move.  
Throwing down her scythe, she ran over to Vegeta and tried to pull the sword out,   
failing miserably. It was wedged in the wall far too tightly to be removed that easily.   
To help support him, Senko took his hands and wrapped them around the broadsword's handle.   
She looked in his eyes and could see the pain. Tears streaked down his cheeks. She wiped his   
face with her hand, trying to soothe him. He looked at her, but she wasn't sure if he could   
actually see her. "Hold on." she whispered, giving him a light kiss on the cheek. He gasped   
and hung his head, worn out from screaming and thrashing.  
"ENOUGH OF THAT!" Tarirko yelled. Senko whipped around.  
"It's time for me to send you to join your little monkey-Prince in Hell." he said   
emotionless. She knew it was the beginning of the end. Someone's end.   
She took her fighting stance and waited for him to make his move.  
  
Journey of the Stars: The Stars' Light in the Dark  
*************************************************  
Tarirko stood and waltzed around the room, looking over the four battle hungry warriors. "Let's see" he said, stopping at the back of the Chapel, at the altar. "I'm not really thrilled with these odds. And I can tell you're all pretty strong. So, who should I get rid of?"  
The four of them simply looked at each other.   
He rubbed his chin. "Interesting assortment, I must say. A snail, a monkey, a freak   
with three eyes, and a bald little dwarf. Which one? It's so hard to choose."  
"Enough with the insults, get on with it." said Piccolo coldly.  
"Oh fine then," he said. He thrust out his hand and Piccolo went flying. The motion   
of the unseen force blew him out of the Chapel. Before he could stand and regain his   
composure, Tarirko yanked his hand back. The massive doors slammed shut, as if commanded   
to; locking Piccolo outside, and unable to help the others. "Well, that was fun for a minute."   
he said, emotionless.  
Senko made her way over to Krillin and Tien. It was now down to three, and Senko   
figured he would pick one of them off before the real battle began.  
Tarirko reached inside the folds of the long, black coat he wore. He pulled out a   
gun.  
Damnit! thought Senko. He's got a castor gun. Wait, that's one of Gene's guns! He   
stole it from the Comm Pod!  
"You know," he told the remaining three as he examined the bronze colored gun. "I   
really like these castor guns. They're just so damn effective." At the last word, he   
pointed the gun at Tien and fired.  
Realizing who his target was, Senko screamed. "TIEN!!! GET BACK!!!"  
But it was too late. He couldn't see the bullet. He was thrown backwards into the   
massive doors. Senko went running to him, but Krillin seemed stuck to the floor, held there   
by his fear.   
The castor sent waves of electricity through Tien's body. Senko raised his head and he   
seemed responsive. The castor hadn't killed him, but it had rendered him useless in battle.   
"Lie still." she told him. "Act dead."  
Senko laid Tien back on the floor and returned to Krillin's side. Now what, she thought.   
You gonna take Krillin from me too?  
Tarirko smiled. "Well, I like these odd better, don't you Senko? Two on one?"  
I'm gonna make it three on one, she thought angrily. If this plan works, that is.  
Tarirko walked back to the stone altar. He pulled his katana off of it. Senko stepped   
forward and they squared off.  
I've got to control myself at first, she thought. Can't let him see I have so much power. Let him think he's winning and go in for the kill.  
He came racing at her and she threw up the scythe's blade, meeting the long sword just   
over her head. He pressed his weight on to the sword, pushing her towards the floor.   
Dropping down to one knee, she slashed him across the knee caps. He jumped back and   
readied himself again.  
Then it was her turn to make the first move. Running to his left side, she dragged   
the handle, trying to land the scythe's curved point in his groin. But he was aware of her   
actions and turned himself 90 degrees, bringing the katana to her back. He made contact and she fell forward, with a slash across the back.  
Getting back to her feet, she ran forward. Using some of her Saiya-jin prowess, she  
jumped up and bounced off of the wall, landing on top of the altar. She jumped and dived   
off the stone perch and attempted to land her scythe in his chest.  
Once again, Tarirko was aware of her actions and turned around, then backing up as   
she came at him. She ended up landing on the floor with him holding his sword above her neck.  
Gotta do something, she thought. Can't sit here.  
She kicked at his knees, knocked him on his rear.   
"LITTLE MONKEY BITCH!!!" he screamed at her. He slashed at her from his sitting   
position. She was able to jump back in time.  
She returned to Krillin's side. "This isn't working," she told him, panting. "He   
could keep playing forever and I can't. We need to try something else."  
"Occupy him until I can get on top of the altar," he told her quietly. "We'll   
double-team him."  
"Got it." She ran at Tarirko, trying to make contact with his neck, but ending up   
hitting the sword. Clang. Clang. Clang. She just couldn't hit him.   
Krillin ran around to the area Vegeta was and knelt down. He looked up at the still   
suffering man and had the sudden urge to pull out the sword. Keeping his back to the wall,   
he stood slowly. He put his hands on the hilt of the sword and tried to pull. Vegeta cried   
out and Krillin felt the sword give slightly in the wall. It would be possible to remove it.  
But even if we get him down, Krillin thought. He's too weak to fight.  
Krillin left his side and knelt down behind the altar. Senko was managing to keep   
Tarirko occupied, so he had no idea where Krillin was.  
Suddenly he jumped on top of the altar, cupping his hands he screamed   
"KA....ME....HA...ME....HA!!!"   
Senko jumped back out of the way and Tarirko flipped around. He took the blast   
head on and it forced him to the floor. He seemed to be scrambling to regain his standing   
in the battle.   
It didn't last long. He put his arms up diagonally, preparing himself.  
"KRILLIN, LOOK OUT!!!" Senko screamed, knowing what he would do. "IT'S COMING BACK!!"   
Krillin, not planning on making the same mistake he had with Senko's return blast,   
let go of the blast suddenly and jumped up.  
Tarirko turned on Senko. But she had a surprise for him. Two in fact.  
She pulled her arms back and screamed, the golden flash lit the Chapel for a brief   
moment and she went Super on him.  
Tarirko just stood panting for a moment. "You...you can't be..."  
She ignored his babbling and put up her palms, aiming for his chest. Hate to be an   
attack stealer, she thought.  
"GYARIKKU-HO!!!" she screamed.   
Tarirko had obviously not been expecting such a blast. The energy shoved him back   
against the altar. He put his palms up, creating a sort of Ki-blast, it was just enough   
to keep Senko's attack from ripping apart his body. He slowly grew more sure of himself   
and pushed back against the Flash.  
Not good, she thought. This is the strongest attack I know. And I can't even touch   
him with it.  
Krillin stood near Senko, he was forced to scream over the roar of the blasts. "WHAT   
NOW?!?"  
"HELP VEGETA!!!"  
"WHAT?!? WHY?!? HE CAN'T FIGHT!"  
"I KNOW! JUST GET HIM DOWN, I HAVE AN IDEA!"  
Krillin ran back to Vegeta and attempted to pull out the sword again. "IT'S NO GOOD!"   
he screamed. "I CAN'T PULL IT ALL OF THE WAY OUT, NOT BY MYSELF!!! NOW WHAT?!?"  
It looked as if she was going to have to use her Ace to pull off her plan.   
Damn, she thought. I'm gonna die trying to save us.   
She backed up slowly, trying to power up. It was nearly impossible to do while   
maintaining such a powerful attack. Suddenly, she wasn't sure if any of them were going to   
survive.  
  
Journey of the Stars: Vegeta's Regeneration  
*************************************************  
Okay, thought Senko. Gotta think. Gotta figure this one out.  
She panted. The heat was overwhelming.   
Okay, I think I've got it, she realized.  
She tried to slowly edge her right hand off of the blast, forcing more of the   
power into her left hand. Whether or not she could control it with one hand, remained   
to be seen.   
With her right hand free, she began to channel energy to her fist, pointing her   
arm at the ground. When she felt it building, she opened her hand and exposed the   
golf-ball size ball of Ki, forming a sort of cup with her hand. With the ball levitating   
inside of her palm, she aimed her arm at the wall, parallel to her body.  
She was being pushed back. It wasn't so much that energy was leaving the Flash,   
but that it was difficult to balance such a heavy energy load with one hand and still   
remain standing in the same spot. And the fact that Tarirko was pushing back wasn't helping.  
Suddenly she grimaced, and the Ki ball grew to the size of a basketball. It was   
time to let go.  
"ENERGY CLONE!!!" she screamed and released the ball at the ball. She then replaced   
her right hand, stopping the reverse moment of her body. It was now twice as difficult to   
keep up the Flash, for she had given up half of her energy reserve to make the ball.  
The blast hit the wall. But instead of creating a hole through the building, or   
bouncing back, it splattered on the wall like a crushed tomato. The splatter turned into   
drips and ran down the wall, pooling on the floor, much like Vegeta's blood had.  
When all of the fluid had pooled into one spot, it flashed golden and started to take   
a shape. The lumpy mass grew until it was Senko's size, then stopped. It flashed golden   
again, and the results of the attack were seen.  
It was a physical copy of Senko, genetically similar in every way. But it wasn't the   
same, it wasn't a split form of her. It was more like a golem, with control resting in   
Senko's brain and soul.  
Senko concentrated and mentally connected with the mute golem.   
Go over to the wall and help Krillin. Go whatever he says to do to get the sword out   
of the wall, Senko thought.  
As you wish, the golem replied.  
Now it was extremely difficult for Senko to hold on. She couldn't keep this up forever. Her physical strength was sapped and her mind was split in two.  
Hurry up, damnit, she thought. I'm gonna go down.  
The golem walked over to the wall and Krillin tried to communicate with the only-mildly   
responsive golem. "Put your hands here," he said, pointing at the handle. "On three, we're   
gonna pull. It's gotta come straight out. Not sideways."  
Senko could hear the conversation though the golem's ears, and it was mildly distracting. Say you understand, she thought to the golem. And be ready to pull.  
The golem nodded and readied itself.  
"One...two....three!" Krillin called out.  
With Krillin holding on to the hilt and the golem holding on to the handle, they were   
able to pull the sword from the wall. Vegeta fell to the floor, splattering the pool of   
blood as he landed.  
"NOW WHAT???" yelled Krillin to Senko.  
Damn Krillin, I can hear you through the golem, quit yelling. Okay, she instruced the   
golem. Stand over Vegeta, the one on the floor, and put your palms out, aiming at his chest.   
Release your Ki energy in short bursts, but don't hit him hard.  
The golem did as instructed. Senko was forced to think pleasant thoughts while the   
golem released it's energy though, if not, it could inadvertently attack him. And it was   
really hard to think of cuddly, fluffy cabbits in a time like this.  
Within a minute or two, Senko could hear Vegeta coming around through the golem's   
hearing. She wished she could see what was going on, but to tap into the golem's vision   
would restrict her own vision, and she's couldn't afford to be caught blind suddenly. She   
had the golem fire a few more blasts and stop. It had already become translucent from the   
lack of energy, but Senko stilled needed it. She would have just given up the golem if she   
didn't need it for the next part of her plan.   
Vegeta pushed himself up against the wall and Krillin helped him to try and stand.   
He got most of the way up, but suddenly collapsed, forcing him into a sitting position.  
"It's broken," Senko could hear Krillin say. "All the way through. I can see the bone   
even. There's no way you can stand on this."  
In protest, Vegeta pushed himself up again, bracing himself against the bloody wall.   
"I...I can stand...have to..." Senko heard him say. She heard him cry out in pain, but he   
didn't fall again.  
All right, Senko instructed the golem, listen to me. You need to pick up the sword   
and hold on to it. Wrap your tail around it, to hold on to it securely.  
The golem did as asked.   
Now, say exactly what I tell you, to Krillin and Vegeta.   
The golem responded with a simple yes.  
"Krillin, go to my left side and angle off of him. Maybe half way between me and the   
back wall. Have Vegeta do the same thing, only on my right. You two are going to double   
team him while the golem pins him to the altar with the broadsword. Hold him off long enough   
with one of your consistent Ki-attacks for me to power up for my final attack and it'll be   
over. When I'm ready, I'll tell you to leave through the hole in the roof."  
It told Krillin what she had said. He said something resembling, "Okay, if you say so."  
"The golem is going to give up whatever energy is left after it's attack to Vegeta,   
so he just needs to hold out long enough for the golem to get back from the altar."  
"All right, gotcha." she heard him say.  
Krillin left the wall and ran behind Senko, angling off of her. He looked over at her,   
checking to see if she thought the angle was okay. She nodded.  
She glanced over at Vegeta. He was in the right spot, but couldn't stand on his own.   
The golem continued to support him, but even then he could not get his arms up to form an   
attack.  
This isn't gonna work, thought Senko. It won't work unless he can do this on his own.  
Then Senko had an idea. She still had the scythe, and had keep it handy by holding   
on to it with her tail. If I can get it over to him, he can use it to balance himself on,   
taking the weight off of his broken leg.  
She let go of the scythe and it dropped to the floor. Slowly backing up, she stepped   
over the scythe and kicked it to her right. Aiming was bit of a problem, but she got it close   
enough for the golem to grab it before it slid by. Grab it, she instructed. The golem   
responded appropriately.  
Now, she instructed, turn the scythe so the blade is towards the floor. Pull yourself   
from under his arm and put the scythe in your place.  
The golem did as instructed.   
It actually seemed to work. The scythe was just slightly taller than he would need   
for a crutch, so he had decent balance on it.  
Both he and Krillin took their fighting stances, and powered up. Well, as much as   
they could in their sorry state.  
"NOW!!!" Senko screamed out.  
Both fired blast that resembled hers, but she wasn't exactly sure what was what. And   
considering she couldn't hear what either of them had called out, she was surprised she was   
able to tell the attacks apart. They aimed for Tarirko's shoulders, and at the angle they   
were coming from, was forced to give up the defensive against Senko and concentrate on   
defending himself from the men. With one last push, Senko's blast threw Tarirko back against   
the altar.   
NOW! she instructed the golem. GO AT HIM! PUSH HIM BACK AND JAM THE SWORD THOUGH HIS   
CHEST! AIM FOR THE CRACK DOWN THE CENTER OF THE ALTAR!  
The golem did as instructed, but couldn't get back from the altar before being blown   
apart by the tremendous heat and energy. There was a quick burst of golden light and it was   
gone.  
"That's why I couldn't do it." Senko mumbled aloud. "That would have been me."  
With the men holding out, Senko released the attack and backed off. She lifted off   
and hung in mid-air, trying to concentrate her power into her fists. She curled up in a   
tight ball and tried to block out all of the thoughts of failure and loss, and concentrate.  
"Hey, what are doin'?" she heard Krillin yell. Figuring he meant her, she didn't   
look down, knowing it would break her concentration.  
"VEGETA DON'T!!!" she heard him yell. This time she looked down, and didn't like   
what she saw.  
Vegeta had backed off and had stopped firing. He had his arms crossed across his   
body and his head tucked down. Luckily, it appeared that Tarirko didn't plan on firing at   
him, either out of weakness or fear.   
"NO!!!" Krillin screamed. "YOU'LL BLOW US AWAY!!!"  
Senko dropped back down, cowering close to the floor. She hadn't seen this attack,   
but judging from Krillin's response, she didn't think she wanted to.   
Krillin stopped firing as well and dove for cover near Senko. "Keep your head down!"   
he yelled to her, covering his own head.  
Senko heard Vegeta scream something she couldn't understand and he threw up his arms.  
Senko and Krillin went flying into the smooth pod wall with the force of a hundred   
missiles.  
Now what? thought Senko, shaking violently from the blast. Now what do I do? Oh man,   
somebody help me. Now I don't know what to do.  
"It's...it's...his anger...he's so...mad..." she heard Krillin panting.  
Yeah, she thought, but his anger might have just signed our death notices.  
  
Journey of the Stars: Forward to Destruction  
*************************************************  
Senko and Krillin landed on the ground with a thud, having bounced off the wall, with   
nothing to grab onto.  
"Ugh." she moaned, looking up. The dust was beginning to clear and Senko finally had   
a clear picture of Vegeta's true power.  
The floor was all but gone. All that was left was the small area he was standing on,   
everything thing else having been turned into rubble and dust that had built up around the   
base of the wall. The altar remained, having been blocked by Tarirko, but it was damaged beyond practical use.  
We're not dead, she thought. I will never understand why we aren't dead yet.  
Senko then saw two things that we're not very good signs of future success in the battle. Vegeta, having used up the power reserve given to him by the golem, cried out and fell over, collapsing on his side. And Tarirko wasn't dead. But that wasn't the worst of it. He was now pulling out the sword from his chest.  
If he gets it out, he'll go straight for Vegeta, and I won't be able to stop him, she   
thought.  
She looked over at Krillin. "Get up! I've got an idea again." she told him, getting   
to her feet.  
He looked at her. "What?" he asked panting.  
Ignoring him for the moment, Senko went back to Tien, and was amazed to find he had   
made it though the blast. She pulled him to his feet. "Can you still fly, even if you're   
hurt."  
He grimaced. "Yeah, I think so." He lifted up gingerly. "Not for long, but yeah."  
"Go through the hole in the roof. Hurry. Get as far away as you can." she told him   
hurriedly.  
He floated up slowly though the hole and she watched him disappear over the edge of   
the hole.  
Senko returned to Krillin, who had been coughing and sputtering from the dust.   
"Listen to me. I need you to take Vegeta and leave. Go out through the roof, just like   
Tien did."  
Krillin regained his voice. "But, he's not dead. You wanna deal with this yourself?"   
he asked. Worry suddenly set in. "ARE YOU NUTS?!? HE'LL KILL YOU AND BEAT YOU INTO A PULP!!!"  
"He needs to be taken care of." she told him as they walked over to Vegeta. "He's not   
strong enough to fight anymore. She looked over at Tarirko, still struggling to get the   
sword out. Unfortunately, he seemed to be making progress.  
After situating Vegeta so Krillin could carry him, they started to float up.   
"LISTEN!" Senko yelled up to them. "Don't come back. No matter what, don't come back.   
I don't care if the place is burning down, don't come back. And get as far away as you can.   
If you can, find Tien. He needs help!"  
Krillin gave a nod and they floated up through the hole and over the roof.   
Suddenly Senko felt very lonely.   
No, she thought, this isn't about me. It's about all the ones who've suffered.  
With most of the floor gone, finding an easy place to power up on, on the ground, was   
difficult. Seeing the only level place was the area Vegeta had been standing, she decided   
to use that.  
Can I really do this? she thought. Can I really do what the others couldn't?  
Standing firm on the remaining floor, Senko took her fighting stance. But instead of   
putting her arms at her sides, she crossed them across the front like in her Return Fire   
defensive attack. She started to power up, sending the energy to her shoulders.  
I have until he manages to get the sword out , she thought. However long that is.  
The seconds ticked by slowly. Time seemed to have either slowed or stopped for Senko.   
The waiting was killing her.  
I've already passed the level of power I need for this, she thought. But if I move,   
it'll be too soon. And I can't do the attack until the sword comes out. It'll kill me too   
if it doesn't.  
"Damn you, hurry up," she muttered.  
The power was becoming too much. It was as if she had ran out of room to put the extra   
energy. Soon, it has to be soon, she realized. Or I'll blow myself up.  
She started to rise up very slowly, trying to release a tiny bit of energy to counteract   
the overflow she was feeling. She came to a thirty-five degree angle with Tarirko, and stopped.  
Then she finally heard it. The sword had come free and she heard it clang on the floor.  
She put down her arms and could finally see the tremendous golden glow she had.   
She practically lit up the pod, like some sort of giant candle. She looked down at Tarirko   
and noticed that he hadn't gotten up yet. It was her chance.  
"KAMI-KAZE BLAST" she screamed. She aimed herself at him and slammed into him, left   
shoulder first, in the center of his chest.  
Senko was thrown backwards, as if she had bounced back. She landed in a heap on the   
ground on the opposite side of the pod.   
The impact was enough to break apart the remaining pieces of the altar and the walls   
began to shake. She had just planned on slamming into him, throwing him through the altar's   
remains and into the wall. But this was so much more. The foundation and the walls began to   
shutter. The excessive power build-up had been far too much. It was a massive error on her   
part and she would pay the price.   
Tarirko had been thrown into the back wall, and to Senko's delight, had stopped moving.   
Looking up though, wasn't so pleasant. The roof was beginning to break away and fall, the   
ground was cracked and was breaking apart further. The building continued to shake and the   
noise was deafening.  
It's like an earthquake, she thought, crawling away from a piece of roof that had just   
fallen. I can't get out either. This isn't what I meant to do!  
Something crashed down on her, pinning her to the floor. It was a piece of the dome   
that was painted purple.   
Can't feel my legs...or my tail..., she thought. I'm stuck here, I can't get out.  
She curled up the best she could, covering her head with her arms. I guess this is   
how it ends, she thought.  
Something crashed down upon her and she blacked out.  
  
Journey of the Stars: Dawn Upon the Mountain of the Dead   
*************************************************   
What? What happened? Senko thought. I'm dead? Or what?  
She opened her eyes, but was disappointed to discover she couldn't see much of anything. It was just too dark.  
She decided to try and move. All but her right leg seemed free enough to move.   
Kicking back the rubble with her left leg, she was able to free herself enough to start   
crawling out from under the piles and piles of debris that had once been the Chapel.  
When she got close enough to the surface she could see light. Pushing back the   
final piece, she crawled out of the hole. It was dawn already, but something seemed strange.   
The sky was a strange color, almost a putrid yellow-green. It was the sort of color someone   
turned when they were about to vomit.  
"Maybe the gods are gonna puke on me," she mumbled. "Maybe because I'm still alive   
and I shouldn't be."  
She stood on the rubble and looked around, trying to take in all of the chaos that a   
few minutes and a whole lot of power created. The falling pieces had landed in such a way,   
that it created a sort of mountain. A burial mound almost.  
At the summit of the stone and resin mountain were Tien, Krillin, and Vegeta.   
Apparently none of them had taken her advice, staying back only until the dust settled.  
She sighed. For whatever reason, she just wasn't relieved yet.   
She gasped. He's not dead, she thought. Where? Where is he? She looked around quickly.  
Wait, she thought. Maybe this is just paranoia. Maybe...  
Scratch.  
What was that?  
Scratch. Scratch.  
Where...where is it...?  
"BEHIND YOU!!!" screamed Krillin.  
Tarirko busted though the remaining layers of debris and came up behind her. Senko   
whipped around. Just in time to take the sword used to skewer him and Vegeta, in the gut.  
She gasped and stumbled back slightly.  
"Listen to me," he whispered. "That man, your little Prince, is the reason we are who   
we are."  
"Na...na...no...lie..." she struggled to say.  
He grabbed her by her hair and held her to his face. "This isn't over yet. You'll   
see..." he started gasping for air. "He...is...the...reason...and his...father...reason...."  
"No more..." she fought to escape his grasp. "No...you...lie...bastard..."  
"Not over yet...brat...I have...friends...min..." he grimaced and fell back, letting   
her go. "They'll kill...them....you...be done with...it..." Then he collasped onto his back.  
In defiance of what he was saying, she pulled the sword out from her chest. The wound   
started gushing and she felt weak immediately. "I said...I wouldn' die...at your....hands..."   
she whispered.   
She stumbled over to Tarirko's nearly-dead body and pushed it down upon the rubble,   
laying him out flat. She stepped on his neck, crushing his windpipe.  
"...and....I meant...it..." She held the bloody sword above his head and slammed it down,   
jamming it though his right eye socket. Blood splattered and she fell back. She removed the   
sword, it was too nice a piece to be allowed to stay in his worthless corpse. She stuck the   
sword in her sash and was tempted, if she lived long enough, to try and get off of the mountain. She wasn't thrilled about dying next to the man who had sent her to her death, even if it was her twin brother.  
Slipping on a loose piece of the roof covering in the pile, she fell down the side of   
the mountain, coming to rest near Vegeta. Krillin sat her up and she looked up at him.  
"It hurts..." was all she could muster.   
Out of a corner of her eye she could see several Namekian running towards them. Had she   
been more aware, Senko would have remembered that they ran the Re-Gen pod.  
"I know," said Krillin quietly. "They're gonna help, so just hold on a little longer."  
She moved her head to the side and could see the others. Well, they were there in her   
vision, but she really couldn't comprehend them being there.  
She felt herself being lift as she was turned over to the Namekians. They also carried   
Vegeta, but had Tien walk. They mumbled something about him being too heavy or something.  
She tried to close her eyes, but couldn't. It was as if something made her watch it all, made   
her see the destruction.  
She finally lost consciousness when they reached the Re-Gen pod.  
  
Journey of the Stars: Gene's Arrival Foretells of Future Trouble  
*************************************************   
Hmm, she thought. It's light out. Bright.  
Senko peeled back her eyelids and looked up. The florescent lights of the Re-Gen pod   
were on and they were blinding, especially to someone who had been asleep for...for..  
How long have I been out? she wondered. She noticed something out of the corner of her   
right eye and looked over at it. It was a piece of paper, taped to the outside of the   
half-cylinder.  
It said:  
Name: Senko Li Katsuma  
Day: 6  
Age: ???  
B/D: ???  
Blood type: ???  
Race: Saiya-jin / ???  
Injury level at Admittance: Critical  
Injury level at Current Day: Mild/Moderate  
  
Oh, so I'm little more than a list of stats, huh, she thought. She looked over   
herself. I guess I'm not much more than bandages. Hey, I wonder if I can get out?  
She lifted her arm and pushed on the top of the cylinder. She pushed on it, but it   
refused to budge.   
"Come on," she whispered. "Bastard, open. I want out."  
Nothing, wouldn't even move in it's locks.  
"Fine then," she said aloud. "I wasn't planning on doing this, but..."  
She folded her arm parallel to her waist and flung her arm up. The motion not only   
broke the locks open, but broke the cylinder into several pieces, which then fell to the   
floor. She sat up on the table and examined the room.  
Nothing had changed. The monitors beeped and chirped and pin-sized light blinked on   
various machines. She was kinda surprised to find herself alone.   
I wonder if he didn't make it, she thought. His injuries were really bad.   
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she fought them back.  
She slid off of the table slowly and looked over her snow white cotton-like bandages.   
She couldn't believe that is was even possible to hurt yourself in so many places and not be   
dead. Even her tail had bandages, two in fact.  
While walking towards the exit, she noticed a mirror hanging on the wall. She got   
really close to it and was surprised at what she saw.  
"My hair!" she cried out. "Who cut my hair?" It was cut into a shaggy bob and hung   
low over her face and ears. She put her hands on her hips. "That's what I get for asking   
for something. When I said 'I want to look like Rei,' this.." she looked over the white   
bandages again, poking at the one wrapped around her head. "...this wasn't what I meant."  
She left the Re-Gen pod and walked outside. Things seemed quiet, but Senko figured   
that somewhere, someone, was arguing or complaining or the such. As she walked along the   
little path back to the Comm Pod, she replayed what Tarirko had told her before he died.  
What does Vegeta have to do with me or him? What about the father thing? What was   
that all about? she wondered. But if he's dead...oh I don't know...who cares, he was probably   
just trying to scare me.  
When she entered the Pod, she was surprised to find the entire clan already assembled   
there. Well, they weren't necessarily waiting for her, per se. Melfina was cooking at the   
little stove and Bulma was trying assist her, but everyone knows that she can't cook more than   
a basic meal for herself, let alone the large amount of people in the room. Gene had arrived   
and sat deep in conversation with Krillin. Senko wondered what the heck a monk and an outlaw   
would actually talk about, but them both being human on a planet full of tall, green beings,   
would make you wonder if they just talked about being humans. Tien and Jim were talking   
across the table from Gene and Krillin, but it didn't seem it be a really in-depth   
conversation, as both looked away on occasion.  
In the far corner from the door, an argument of sorts was going on. Piccolo leaned   
against the wall and Vegeta sat in a chair holding onto a cane, and both seemed overly angry.   
Senko heard Piccolo say something about him being weak and Vegeta yelled something back about   
Piccolo not trying to help. It seemed like a rather pointless argument to Senko, considering   
it was over.  
Or at least part of it was.  
I can't believe it, she thought, I came back and no one even notices.  
She slammed the pod door shut and everyone came to attention.  
Gene stood up and started clapping. The rest of the room followed suit.  
Sorrow weld up in Senko's heart.  
"No, stop." Senko said, shaking her head. The clapping stopped. "I didn't keep my   
promise. People died and I couldn't stop it. I was weak and I failed. I haven't done   
anything worth praise."  
She pulled out the chair Gene had been sitting in and sat down. "No one every told me   
that I could have nothing and something at once. I never believed that I could be surrounded   
by so many people who respected me and cared about my welfare, but I could still not even have   
a clue who I am. I am empty and full at the same time. I am a complete paradox. "  
Gene bent down and looked her in the face. He rubbed her head and Senko noticed that it   
hurt slightly. "Listen, I'm sure you'll figure it all out someday. One thing at a time, okay?"  
he said, giving her a wink. She managed a weak smile.  
Tien and Jim stood and headed for the door, followed by Bulma and Melfina. Piccolo, not   
wanting to continue the argument, headed out as well.   
Gene reached under the table and pulled out a clothing trunk. "I brought some clothes.   
I had a feeling you were gonna need them. And..." He looked over at her clothing, which was   
little more than rags that covered just the right spots. "...and it looks like it was a good   
idea."  
She bent over, received a painful shock in the gut, and opened the trunk. It looked   
like she could wear some of it, but some could only be worn by someone as thin as Melfina.  
"So now what?" Krillin asked, breaking the silence that had befallen them.  
"I don't know." Senko said sadly. "I would say I go home to recover, but I don't have   
a home. And I don't think the Star counts as an actual home."  
The silence returned.   
"You know..."started Krillin. "You can come with us. If you're not ready to go back   
into space."  
"Where are you going?"  
"We're going after the Dragonballs, to bring Goku and Yamcha back."  
"What's a Dragonball?" she asked, slightly confused.  
"We can wish them back, from the dead, let's just say that for the moment. I can   
always tell you the whole story later."  
"Umm...okay..." She sat in thought for a moment. "Can it bring back Aisha and Suzuka?"  
"Them. There are seven. Yeah, I'm pretty sure they can."  
Vegeta stood, hobbled over to the chair next to Senko, and sat down. He pushed the   
chair next to her and put an arm around her shoulder.  
Gene smiled strangely. "Well, we know what you've been doin' in your spare time,   
don't we?" Gene winked at her again.  
"Oh be quiet, Gene." she replied, laying her head on Vegeta's shoulder.  
"So then, you're going to go with us?" asked Krillin.  
"I'll go if I can bring back Aisha and Suzuka. I owe them a chance to actually live   
out their lives. If there's a way to do it, I will find it for them."  
"Well, we have to actually find them, it'll be a long trek. I think we're going to   
wait until you two are more up to traveling."  
She sighed. "Sure Krillin."  
"So, should I leave you here? What about Aisha and Suzuka when they come back? Do I   
come and get them? What?" asked Gene, more than slightly confused.  
"Come back for them. How long do you think Krillin?"  
He crossed his arms and sat in thought for a moment. "Well, we have four of them,   
that leaves only three to get. So, I'd say, a month maybe, if we split up."  
There was a knock at the door and Bulma entered. "Umm....slight...problem..." she   
said, worried.   
"What is it Bulma?" asked Krillin.  
"Two of the four Balls we had, are missing. And they aren't showing up on radar."  
"Better make that six months, Gene." Senko told him.  
Bulma put her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do. How can they be gone?   
Where are they? Oh man, things just keep getting worse, don't they?"  
There was a mummer of agreement amongst them.  
Gene stood. "Well, if you aren't going, I think we should be. I've been waiting   
for you, and I think you've made up your mind, so I'm not really needed here."  
"Gene?" asked Senko.  
"What?"  
"Could you leave behind one of Gillian's transmitter Bots? We had the pink one, but   
Tarirko smashed it to pieces. It would allow me to stay in contact with you guys."  
"Yeah, I'll get one for you. Let's get going."  
Krillin, Gene, and Senko stood and walked towards the door, but realized it was   
difficult for Vegeta to walk still. She waited for the others to file out and she walked   
over to him.  
He was trying to stand and Senko gently pushed him back into his seat. "Don't bother   
getting up. It's not worth it." She paused, suddenly unsure of what to say. "Anyway, I   
wanted...I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you. And   
I'm sorry you're hurt so badly."  
He simply looked at her.  
"Umm...so how long on the crutch?" she asked, quietly. "A few weeks?"  
"Two months." he replied, emotionless. "I can start flying in about three weeks,   
but I probably won't be able to walk without the cane for about eight weeks."  
She wanted to cry so badly, she felt so guilty. The tears weld up in her eyes.   
He hates me, she thought. It's my fault.  
"Go outside and watch them go." he told her. "I'll be here."  
All she could do was nod and walk out in silence.  
***  
Senko decided not to make the long trek out to where the Star was. She just wasn't   
up to it, and it would be like reversing everything that had already happened. Instead,   
she took the little path over to Vegeta's pod and went in.   
The place had been cleaned out, and the furniture and door replaced. She went and   
laid down on the bed, trying to take in the idea of not going with Gene, of being here on   
this planet. Of being alone and unaware of the future.   
Sure, bringing someone back from the dead sounded like a nice idea, but there had to   
be a catch, she thought.  
She rolled onto her right side and stared at the wall. Everything suddenly seemed to   
cold, so unforgiving. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadn't heard Vegeta   
come in. Senko heard a small thud as he put the cane next to the bed. He crawled up on the   
bed and laid down behind her, curling up against her. He put his left arm around her waist.  
The future seemed so uncertain to her.  
And for the first time since she and the Star's crew had crashed on Namek, she cried.  
  
  
  
  



End file.
